Entitled To Overcome
by BreakTheWalls
Summary: They had a mutual attraction. However; her father didn't want her to date any WWE superstars. Will they be able to overcome the issue and be happy?
1. Closer To Where I Started

**_A/N:_ Hello, everyone. I've had this plot planned out for a long time. I just wasn't sure who to use as the main love interest and the one to use at the OC's father. But, after some careful planning, I think I made the right decision. I hope everyone likes what I came up with. Lauren Conrad is the OC model for Natalie Michaels because I love her and she is someone I can see portraying Natalie Michaels in real life.**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I do not own anything associated with WWE. Just the OC character Natalie Michaels and the idea of the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter One: Closer To Where I Started

* * *

Natalie Michaels was in the WWE performance center, training with the ring with her dad, WWE Hall Of Famer, and perhaps the greatest of all time, the legendary Shawn Michaels. She was practicing getting back in the ring after she injured her left knee at Wrestlemania during the Smackdown women's championship match. She went for a diving thesz press off the apron onto Natalya, trying to eliminate her from the equation when she landed on her left knee completely wrong.

She ended up in tears that night; not only because of the pain, but that was also supposed to be her big night where she finally captured a championship after being the WWE for five years. She told the referee that she thought she injured her knee, so the referee went and told all the other competitors in the match about Natalie's issue. The other women in the match were amazing to come up with an alternative finish to the match after Vince McMahon told the referee through his ear piece that Naomi was going to become the new Smackdown women's champion. She remembered crying in the arms of her father, Uncle Taker, Uncle Hunter and her best friends, Alexa Bliss and Carmella.

"Dad, when are we going to quit with the basic manuevers?" Natalie questioned. She was ready to get back into the high-flying arsenal she was associated with. She knew her dad would probably be hesitant, but she wanted nothing more than to fly again. "I think I could do kicks and punches with my eyes closed. I've only been doing this a million times since I stepped back into the performance center. I want to fly again."

Shawn just looked at his daughter. He didn't really like to tell her no, but he was unsure about her high-flying again after her sustaining a knee injury after flying off the apron at Wrestlemania. "Sweetie, I know you're ready to get back to flying around the ring, but I honestly think it's in your best interest if you try another technique besides high-flying." The look on his daughter's face broke his heart in two.

The daughter of the Hall of Famer had a saddened look on her face. "C'mon on dad. You broke your back for pete's sake." Natalie was going to argue with her dad over this situation. She would not give up until she could fly again. "When you came back you still did stuff that could hurt your back and you never re-injured it. Remember how hard the other wrestlers would Irish Whip you into the turnbuckle?"

The Heartbreak kid sighed. He knew his daughter was the most persistent human he'd ever known, so she wouldn't be going down without a fight. "Nat, I just think it would be better for you if you toned it down on the high-flying and try a more technical style in the ring."

"You must be afraid that I'm going to get injured again," Natalie stated. "Do you not have enough faith in me?" There was disbelief in her tone. She was getting frustrated with her dad. She didn't know why he was so hesitant on her flying.

"Of course I have faith in you!" Shawn was baffled that his daughter would ask him that question. He kicked the bottom rope that was closest to him to let out some frustration. "I'm just afraid that you'll get injured again if you keep up the high-flying tactics. It's nothing against you Natalie, it's just I'm your father and I'm going to worry. I know how dangerous it can be anytime you step into a WWE ring."

Natalie took a seat in the ring and laid her head back against the bottom turnbuckle. She knew she couldn't argue with her father over that answer. "Fine..." Natalie lifted her head up to look at her father. "How about I start developing a more technical style but I still have the occasional high-flying move?"

Shawn nodded his head in agreement. "That works." He went over to his daughter and extended a hand to her, which she accepted. "Thanks for compromising with me."

"You're welcome." She shot a smile to her father. "You're going to have to train extra hard with me. Because it's going to be challenging for me to have a more slow based style."

"We better get back started again then." The father and daughter went back into the middle of the ring so Natalie could get started on her training again. She would be returning nine days after the Hell In A Cell pay-per-view, so she needed to train hard to she wouldn't have ring rust. However, she would be making a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan which would be the fallout Smackdown show from Hell In A Cell to see one of her best friends, Carmella. Hopefully, she would also being seeing her crush.

* * *

The Princess of Staten Island squealed as she saw her best friend walk into the building. Natalie was rocking a denim shirt that was tucked into a white flowing skirt and tan stilettos. Her blonde hair was straight with her bangs pinned back to the side. Red lipstick and nude eyes were complimenting her outfit very well. Natalie held her arms out waiting for Carmella to jump into them. Natalie laughed when Carmella did just that.

Carmella let herself out of Natalie's arms and gave her a once over. "Damn, babe, you are looking fresh." The current Ms. Money In The Bank was being serious, her best friend looked better than ever. It looked like spending time down in Florida did her some good. She was looking tanner than ever which brought out the best in her glowy features.

"Thanks, Mella." Natalie blushed. Her best friend was very peculiar about how someone looked, so she was flattered about Carmella's compliment. "I actually feel much better too. I feel completely refreshed."

Carmella linked her arm with Natalie's as the two ladies started walking down the hallway. "That's excellent. You worked to death last year and earlier this year. I didn't think you knew what a break was." The two ladies stopped in catering, grabbing some food before Smackdowon began.

Natalie grabbed a salad with french dressing and Carmella grabbed a chicken salad sandwich. Both of the ladies grabbed a bottle of water before sitting down at the table near the gorilla. "So, someone special asked about you at Hell In A Cell," Carmella stated, taking a bite out of her sandwich.

Natalie blushed, her eyes widening. "Why didn't you tell me whenever I was on the phone with you earlier?" Natalie hit her best friend in the arm, of course in a joking way. "This is important news."

Carmella laughed. "Because I wanted to see the look on your face whenever I told you." She once again laughed as her best friend was giving her evil eyes while drinking some of her water.

"You're so cruel." The daughter of Shawn Michaels gave a pouty lip. "I thought I was your best friend."

"You are my best friend," Carmella assured. "But, you know I like teasing you." She took a another bite of her sandwich. "Anyways, don't you want to know what he asked me about you?"

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Of course I do."

"He asked me when you were coming back because it wasn't the same without you around." Carmella smiled when she saw Natalie's eyes light up. "He also told me he was ready for his favorite Natalie to come back. It seems to me that the feelings between you two are mutual."

Natalie frowned. "But, I am the only Natalie that he knows." She finished her salad and proceeded to throw it away. She went back to the table and sat back down. "So, that doesn't really mean anything."

"Girl!" Carmella exclaimed. "Will you just quit overthinking and accept the fact that he misses you?" She grabbed her items and threw them in the garbage. She waved for Natalie to come on so she could get ready for the show. Natalie grabbed her water bottle and followed suit.

* * *

She watched from the sidelines as she watched him give an interview. He was more determined than she remembered being in recent memory. That was one of her favorite traits about him. He definitely lived up to the hype of his nickname. She was feeling her hands get clammy when he finished his interview and was heading towards her.

He wrapped his arms around her and squeezed her tight. He let her go and gave her a smile. "What are you doing here Natalie? I thought you weren't supposed to return tonight?" He looked at her up and down which made her blush.

"I thought I'd come by and visit. I've really missed this place," She stated. "Plus, it was nice to take a break away from my dad. He's been making me train super hard ever since my injury." That caused him to chuckle, which made her smile because his laughter was infectious to her.

"I can imagine. I bet that's one thing that's hard about being the daughter of the Heartbreak kid." He wrapped his arm around her as they walked down the hallway towards his locker room so he could get some last minute stuff ready before he headed to the gorilla. His match was in the main event, which was after the Bobby Roode and Dolph Ziggler segment. "But, I can tell that's where your persistence comes from."

He opened his locker room door, letting her walk in first. She took a seat on the couch as she watched him get some last minute stuff together. "I get that a lot," she chuckled. 'I was actually being persistent with my dad yesterday while I was training because he wanted me to change my style. I refused at first, but then he explained to me why and I compromised with him."

He grabbed his vest, letting it rest on his lap as he sat on the arm on the chair in his locker room. "You know, change is always good. But, it's going to be different not seeing you fly all over the ring." He put on his vest and proceeded to head to the gorilla to get ready for his match, since it was coming up. Once again, he let her go first when he opened the locker room door. "I will miss all the camera angles on you." Natalie's faced turned a dark shade of red. Thank goodness he was still behind her.

They got to the gorilla. "Well, good luck out there. Live up to the hype of your name." He winked at her as he went out in front of the thousands of people in attendance, hoping to regain the championship he lost at Hell In A Cell. Another blush came onto her beautiful face. That was something frequent that happened when she was in his presence.

Carmella walked up to Natalie, changed into her street clothes for the night. "You went completely AWOL whenever I finished with my match with Becky, but now I can see why."

* * *

"So, have you told your dad about your crush?" Carmella asked. Carmella knew that Shawn didn't like the idea of his daughter dating a wrestler considering his history with a particular woman during his run in the mid nineteen nineties.

Natalie scoffed. "Mella, I am not trying to give the man a heart attack. Especially during the time he's helping me train to get back inside the ring." She had wanted to tell her dad about her crush on a certain superstar, but she just couldn't bare herself to do so. She highly doubted that her crush wanted to date her, so there was no point in saying anything at this point.

"Don't you think it would be a good idea, especially if you two were to date in the future?" Carmella asked. Natalie stopped at a red light and looked over to Carmella, giving her a flabbergasted look.

"It's not like AJ and I are ever going to date," Natalie exclaimed. "I'm sure he doesn't even like me like that. He's always hanging out with Charlotte and Becky's posse." Now, she had nothing against Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch, as a matter of fact it was the opposite. She considered Charlotte one of her favorite opponents and Becky was one of the most down to earth people to be around. It was that she felt somewhat threatened by both of them, especially Charlotte since Charlotte was best friends with her crush. She started driving down the highway again.

Carmella frowned. She never knew that her best friend felt that way. "Natalie, you know that him and Charlotte are just pals right? I've seen the way he looks at you and I've seen the way he looks at her. It's two totally different ways. He looks at her like a proud friend and he looks at you as if you are the only one in the room."

Natalie sighed. "Yeah, right. I'm sure you're just saying that to flatter me."

"Nat, you know how I am," Carmella stated. "You know that I would never lie to you. I am always honest with you."

"You're right, Mella." Natalie pulled into the hotel they were staying at and stopped the car. It felt so nice to be rooming with her best friend again. All they were missing was Alexa. They dubbed themselves the 'three musketeers' because Natalie, Carmella, and Alexa were always inseparable. But, Carmella was her ultimate BFF. It was akin to Charlotte and Becky, Lita and Trish, Beth and Natalya, Edge and Christian, Sasha and Bayley, Finn and Karl, Sami and Kevin, and Alexa and Nia. Even though Alexa was her other best friend, she knew Nia was Alexa's ultimate BFF. She was happy that Alexa was back on RAW with Nia even though she would miss her terribly on Smackdown.

"You know it's not going to be the same without Alexa with us," Carmella said. She looked to Natalie who just snapped out of her thoughts. She wondered if Carmella read her mind sometimes. "But, it'll be fun with just the two of us because we can have the ultimate best friend time. It sucked when I left Bayley in NXT because she was my ultimate best friend at the time and she still is one of my best friends, but it was an honor to come to Smackdown with you because you are my true friend soulmate and it was harder on me whenever you got injured."

Natalie began to tear up. That was one of the most touching things she'd ever heard. "That was really sweet, Mella." She gave Carmella a hug. "I missed you too whenever I was out with the injury. It sucked that I was assigned to Total Divas as well for this season, but had to drop out the show because of my injury. I didn't want my storyline to be based around that. I would've loved to join all of you ladies."

They both got out of the car and proceeded to grab their belongings out of the trunk. Natalie, not realizing she left her purse where she did, tripped over it. She was afraid she was going to fall, but she felt someone with broad arms catch her. "Woah, there." She heard an southern accent say. She blushed when she realized who it was.

She looked up into the eyes of her crush. "Thanks. You saved me from possibly another injury." Natalie stated. Behind her was Carmella, who was looking on with intrigue.

"No problem." He waved off the issue. "Anytime I see a beautiful woman is in trouble, I do my best to help her." Yet again, Natalie's face turned redder than a tomato.

"Sorry about your loss tonight," Natalie apologized. "But, you did excellent an job with the short time that you had. You lived to the hype of your nickname once again." Was she flirting? She had more nerve than she thought. She was positive Carmella was having a field day with this interaction.

"Thanks, I try my best." He gave her a kiss on the cheek and waved at her and Carmella before walking away. Natalie watched him walk away, her hand pressed against the cheek he just kissed. She thought she would need a wet floor sign just then because she thought she wet her panties whenever he kissed her cheek.

"He's never done anything like that to Charlotte Flair," Carmella mused. Her best friend turned around to look at her, shocked all over her face. "I told you, he's totally into you." She was getting stuff out of the trunk of the car. "Now, come on, we need to get our stuff out of the car. Especially since we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

But, Natalie couldn't move. She just stood there. She knew her dad wouldn't be happy, but she figured it was about time she told him about her crush on one...AJ Styles.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_ What did you all think about this? Thanks for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and following. All of you are awesome! **


	2. The Web I Spin For You

**_A/N:_ So, I was freaking excited when I saw the response this story got! I am also ecstatic about everyone who has reviewed this story thus far. I am truly grateful. I am beyond grateful to anyone who has followed or favorited this story. It means the world to me.**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I do not own anything associated with WWE. Just the OC character Natalie Michaels and the idea of the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME**  
Chapter Two: The Web I Spin For You

* * *

It was Thursday and Natalie found herself back on the road heading back to Orlando, Florida so she could get back to training with her dad. While the past two nights were amazing hanging out with her best friend, Carmella, she was ready to get back to the niddy griddy and train. Getting out of her 2017 Charcoal gray Ford F-150 dressed in a Carmella t-shirt and gray capri leggings she smiled as she walked into the performance center.

She saw that her dad was already in the ring. "Hey, dad," Natalie stated, walking towards the direction of her father. She got into the training ring, ready for another day of intense training.

"Hey, honey," Shawn greeted. He gave his daughter a hug. "Did you have some fun the past two nights?" The Heartbreak kid was happy that his daughter finally got see her work family again. Especially her best friend Carmella. He didn't even argue with her when she said she would be heading to Grand Rapids, Michigan for the Smackdown Live show.

Natalie smiled. "It was amazing." Seeing Carmella was the highlight of everything. She really missed seeing her best friend. Seeing her crush, AJ Style was definitely something she thoroughly enjoyed. She couldn't get over how many times her face turned red whenever she was in his presence. "Seeing Carmella again was what I needed." She realized that she told herself that she was going to tell her dad about her crush on AJ Styles, but that could be postponed. She just needed their minds to be on training since she would be coming back in just five days.

"That's good," Shawn smiled. "I'm glad you had fun. You really deserved to have some time off to relax." Shawn recognized how hard his daughter had been training lately, especially Monday with working on a more technical moveset. She was dedicated to getting back into the ring and he gave her mad props for her effort.

"Are you ready?" Natalie asked. She was ready. There was five days until her return and she wasn't exactly comfortable with the more technical style just yet. Usually people found it harder to adjust to the high-flyer style than the grounded style, but Natalie was the complete antithesis of that. She found it difficult to adjust to the grounded style.

"I'm ready too. But, we need to wait for someone," Shawn stated. He asked Hunter to get someone that could help Natalie with the more technical style. He looked to his daughter, who had a look of confusion on her face.

"Who are we waiting for?" Natalie wondered. "I thought that it was just you and I training?"

"I got Hunter to find someone that could help you with a more technical style," Shawn answered. "I thought you could have someone on the current roster help you, especially since most of the roster have some of the most technically sound performers I've ever seen." He smiled as his daughter nodded her head. They both looked to the door seeing Natalie's other trainer come into the performance center.

Natalie swore she felt her heart stop when she saw who walked into the performance center. AJ Styles would be the one helping her train too. How coincidental could this be? No way, she thought to herself. Carmella would have a field day when Natalie told her about this. Well, her father did say that the current roster did have some of the most technically sound performers he'd ever seen and he sent Hunter, who had a nac for picking out talent, to get her another trainer. So, it should come as no surprise really that AJ was the one picked. She wasn't biased or anything but he was certainly among the top talents. In her eyes, he was the best. That was why he was the Phenomenal one.

"So, they send the Phenomenal one to help train me?" Natalie stared at the man she was harboring a crush on as he made his way towards the training ring, clad in a dark blue tapout shirt, black track shorts, his hair tucked into his trademark ballcap. Natalie couldn't help but swoon. This man looked phenomenal in anything!

"Appears that Natalie Michaels needed to have some Phenomenal training." The Georgia native smiled to the woman standing above him in the ring. He got into the ring, standing beside Natalie. "Nice to see you again, Shawn," AJ stated, holding his hand out to shake the hand of the WWE Hall of Famer. The handshake was reciprocated from the man AJ had a ton of respect for. There was a rumor that there was supposed to be a match between him and Shawn at the Royal Rumble in January. While AJ was disappointed the match didn't happen, he understood Shawn's motives for not letting the match happen.

"I'm not surprised that Hunter sent you out here to help my _daughter_ with her training." Shawn added some emphasis on the word 'daughter' because he could sense some tension between AJ and Natalie. It was like they both held some feelings that were way beyond platonic. If that was the case, AJ was a cordial man, the Hall of Famer didn't want his daughter to be dating any wrestlers. Honestly, anybody working in the sports entertainment field.

Natalie looked between her dad and her crush, her nerves a hot mess. She shook the thoughts that were running through her mind. "I'm not surprised either," the blonde finally spoke up. "After all, he is the best wrestler that WWE has." She had hearts for eyes when she saw the Phenomenal one look over to her and smile.

"That's polite of you, Natalie." He was sincerely flattered about Natalie thinking he was the best wrestler in WWE. He reciprocated how she felt because he thought she was the best wrestler in the women's division. He never saw someone who was dedicated in honing their craft like she was. "I'm honored that you would think that, considering how many talented co-workers we have."

Shawn coughed, gaining the attention of the duo who was standing across from him. "We should training now, don't you two think?" AJ and Natalie merely nodding their heads. Yep, the Heartbreak kid was indeed certain that Natalie had a crush on the Phenomenal one. He saw the way that she looked at AJ. He needed to make sure that Natalie was one hundred percent focused on training and not getting caught up in some infatuation with a fellow wrestler.

* * *

The training was intense, but Natalie wasn't complaining at all. Between the help of her dad and AJ, Natalie had more confidence of having a more technical style in the ring. She saw the acute look in her father's eyes as she was working on holds and moves with AJ. She hadn't seen that look in his eyes in years, at least when it came towards her.

She saw the former US champion getting into his truck. She decided to capture his attention before he headed off to the destination he was headed towards. She jogged to his truck, grabbing a hold of the door just as he was about to shut the door. "Can I help you with something mam?" AJ asked, shooting a charming smile at Natalie. Her cheeks turned bright red. "Good training session today by the way. I'm impressed with how fast you're catching on to the more grounded style. Give it time and I think you can be more technical than me."

"Yeah, right," Natalie stated with a laugh. "I appreciate you being complimentary, but I actually came over here to thank you for helping me train today. To be honest, I had no idea I was getting another trainer until I stepped into the performance center. But, I think it was pretty witty of my dad to send Hunter out on a search to get me a trainer, especially since it's been a struggle for me to adjust to a more grounded offense in the ring."

The older man nodded his head. "Hunter texted me yesterday and asked me if I could help train you. He said that he wanted the only the best for you, so I couldn't turn him down when he put it like that."

"He definitely knows what's best for me." Natalie then pointed at her truck, which she knew AJ loved. He called dibs on the truck when she posted a picture of it on Instagram on her birthday, which is August fourteenth. That's right, Natalie is the only WWE female talent AJ follows on Instagram besides Renee Young. "He was the one who gave me that charcoal gray baby on my birthday. He sent my dad the money and it was a surprise."

The Phenomenal one looked at the truck in admiration; it was even more beautiful in person. "I bet you feel like a hot shot whenever you're riding in that baby, don't you?"

Natalie shook her head, a smile plastered onto her radiant face. She then thought of something she could do to score even more cool points with her crush. "Do you want to take it for a cruise?" AJ's face lit up like a kid's face on a Christmas morning when they open presents. That easily made her smile.

"That would be freaking awesome!" He shut off his truck, closed the door, then proceeded to lock the door before walking over to the driver's seat of Natalie's truck. "You're so awesome, Nat." This was very nice of her to do. He needed to think of something to repay her. Without warning, a lightbulb went off in his head. He had a Georgia Bulldogs game on Saturday and he had one extra ticket left. "I was wondering...the Georgia Bulldogs are playing on Saturday, and I know that your team is the Florida Seminoles, but it would be cool if you went."

The blonde's eyes lit up. She couldn't believe that AJ had just asked her to go to a game with him. "I think it would be a lot of fun. What will the arrangements be? Should I just drive upthere to Georgia tomorrow and stay in a motel?"

After starting Natalie's truck, AJ looked over to her. "How about I just stay in Orlando tonight and then we can head up to Georgia tomorrow? It would be a lot easier if we just rode together. Then you can just crash with me Friday and Saturday and I can drive you back down here on Sunday." He put the truck in drive and headed out of the parking lot of the performance center onto the highway, loving how smooth her truck rode. He contemplated on trading in his truck for a truck similar to this.

Natalie felt her insides explode. AJ was willingly to travel with her and let her stay with him at his house. There was no arguing with that offer. "That works for me. It would make sense for you to crash with me tonight then since you are so nicely inviting me into your home." She was already going to invite AJ to crash with her for the night, but now she would have a logical explanation on letting him stay with her.

"So, you're telling me that you were going to leave me out on the streets to begin with?" AJ asked, looking over to Natalie with a feign sad look on his handsome face. "And here I speculated that we're friends."

An overwhelming look spread onto Natalie's face. "Of course I was going to let you stay with me. I just wanted to give you an explanation on why you could stay with me. I didn't want you to think I was weird for asking you to stay with me." She fumbled with her hands.

AJ chuckled wholeheartedly at the woman in the passenger seat. "No worries, I was just messing with you." His free hand grabbed her hands that she was still fumbling with. "Relax, Natalie. I could never think you're weird. If anything, I think you're really wonderful."

Natalie's heart started racing really fast. She never understood how someone's words could have such an affect on her. "Thanks." That was the only word she could muster out, considering her heart was beating in her throat.

Natalie moved one of her hands out from under AJ's grip and got out her phone. "Is it okay if I please take a picture with you driving my truck?"

"I don't know now, I'm not looking very photogenic today," the Georgia native joked. He couldn't help but hear the mutter of, _"but, you always look photogenic"_ and that made him smile. "However; since you nicely asked, I will be honored to take a picture with you." AJ let go of his grip on Natalie's hand so she could get ready to take the photo.

Natalie clicked onto the camera and turned the screen so it would face them. Natalie leaned towards a already smiling AJ, smiling too, and proceeded to take the picture. Natalie showed the picture to AJ, who gave a thumb up as his approval. She went to Instagram, preparing to post the picture she was sure was going to break the internet somehow. The picture of the two were posted onto her Instagram page.

 _itsmeNatalie: My truck has a phenomenal driver in it. ajstylesp1 *winky face_ _emoji*_

As soon as she closed out of Instagram, she looked to see that she had a text message from her father that read: _I saw your interaction with AJ. It's okay that he's friends with you, but you need to make sure that you stay completely focused on returning to the ring this coming Tuesday. You don't need any distractions._

She replied: _Don't worry dad. I am more focused than ever. I promise._

She went to her text message icon and proceeded to send a text to Carmella: _I think my dad is catching onto my crush on AJ. She then took a screenshot of the text and sent it to her._ She also sent another message saying: _I think he's paranoid that I am going to get distracted and loose all my focus on training._

It was going to be tougher than she already imagined it would be telling her father about her crush on the Phenomenal one.

* * *

"Nice room you have here." AJ and Natalie were at Natalie's condo in Orlando with AJ glancing around at the Heartbreak Kid's daughter's interior. Looking around her den; (which was in a room to the right whenever someone walked in the door) she seemed to be a huge fan of Pop Culture. She had numerous posters, video games, comic books, action figures, and movies. There was a picture of her and Nikki Bella dressed up together that caught his eye. This was the time that Nikki Bella dressed as him and had a video took of her imitating him. He remembered watching the video and found it hysterical. Natalie must've been the one to take that video.

Then there was Natalie who dressed up as Dolph Ziggler. She looked just as ostentatious as the Show Off usually looked. Her blonde hair was crimped and looking wild. She was rocking a Dolph Ziggler shirt with funky zebra print leggings tucked into white boots. AJ would have to let Natalie show him her video of her imitating Dolph Ziggler. That was probably a laugh for the ages.

He walked out of her den and walked down a tiny hallway that led to the kitchen and living room, and to the left of the living room was an area that had two bedrooms and a bathroom. And to the right of the living room, there was a staircase which he assumed had more bedrooms and bathrooms. In the living room, there was a forty two inch flat screen hung against the wall and some speakers, which were probably used for the dramatic sound effects. He had some and nice we're really cool when watching an action movie. There was two caramel chairs along with a long caramel couch and caramel love seat that were set up in a round motion.

The kitchen was open and connected to the living room. The kitchen had a gray marble island with silver steel appliances. Everything seemed to compliment each other nicely. He was impressed with how everything meshed well together. The whole condo was made of hardwood floor, so he imagined it made cleaning the floors much simpler for Natalie.

This was one of the nicest condos he'd ever seen.

After admiring Natalie's condo, he sat down in one of her caramel chairs in the living room. She was occupying the other one, her foot rest lifted up from underneath with her feet propped. "Admirable place you have." AJ stated, looking in the direction of Natalie.

Natalie smiled. "Thanks. It took forever to get this place just the way I wanted it." She yawned, stretching out her arms in dramatic fashion. "Today has been a long day." She remembered that she needed to show AJ where he where would be crashing at for the night. She kicked down the foot rest and plopped up. "I need to show you where you're staying at tonight before I end up falling asleep and forgetting all about it."

The Phenomenal one chuckled and got up from his seat to follow Natalie. He followed her to the little area that was to the left on the living room. He stood beside her as she pointed to the left room. "You can sleep there tonight. My room is across the hall." She pointed to her room that was to the right. "You would think I would like the upstairs because it's more quiet, but I like being downstairs better. I use the upstairs for my personal gym and storage."

"Looks like we'll be neighbors then," AJ stated. "Well, I'm going to go get my bags from my truck and come in a take a shower." He already packed his bags with the intention of staying in Orlando for the night anyways. He headed towards outside. Natalie's cheeks turned hot at the sight of having a shirtless AJ Styles in the house. Sure, she saw him shirtless whenever he performed, but this was way different because he would be naked, in her shower. Natalie felt the need to take a cold shower just to cool herself off.

Heading upstairs so she could shower, she heard her phone ring. She went back to the kitchen counter where her phone was located and saw it was Carmella calling. She sighed a breath of relief before answering the phone.

* * *

"Hello, bestie," Natalie said with a smile. "It's about time I heard from you."

"Sorry, honey," Carmella apologized. Her and Cass were getting some more errands done with their new house they'd just bought. She felt bad for not seeing Natalie's text until like five minutes ago. "Cass and I were busy getting some more stuff done for the new house. I didn't have my phone with me for most of the day. So, I saw your text. Is everything okay?" There was worry in her tone.

"Things are going great," Natalie answered. She walked back up the stairs so she could have some privacy with Carmella since she knew AJ was going to be brought up. "AJ Styles is staying at my house."

"Shut up!" Carmella exclaimed. "When did this happen? Are you two together now? Does your dad know? What does he think?"

Natalie laughed at how interrogative Carmella was being. "No, were not together. Like I sent you in the text, my dad is being paranoid. I think he's catching onto my crush onto AJ. He's acting like I'm not focused at all."

"Well, you're more focused than anyone that I know. I've never seen anyone more focused." It was true. Carmella never seen someone who trained as hard to come back as Natalie did. That was the reason why they didn't hang out that much during Natalie's injury; Natalie was always training. "How did AJ Styles end up in Orlando? I thought he'd be back home too."

"My dad thought it would be a good idea if someone else helped out with this new technical offense and defense my dad wants me to have. He wants me to tone it down on the high flying. It'll be hard, but I think I'll be able to manage. Anyways, he wanted Hunter to pick someone out who would be good at working with me and wa-la, AJ Styles is the one that shows up at the performance center."

Carmella let out an excited shriek. "Natalie, this is freaking wonderful. This means that you and AJ can spend more time together." Carmella frowned on her end when she heard Natalie sighed. "I know what that sigh means. Are you worried about your dad? He did say that you could be friends with him? Right?"

"He did say that," Natalie responded. "I'm just going to have to make sure that I remain focused on training whenever AJ is there. I don't want want my dad's paranoia to get worse. But, I have something else exciting to tell you."

"What is it?" Carmella wondered. She was anxious to know what her best friend wanted to tell her.

"AJ invited me to come with him Saturday to go to the Georgia Bulldogs football game." Natalie was ecstatic about sharing that information. "I'm like super excited and nervous at the same time."

"I am excited for you," Carmella said. "If you and AJ keep hanging out then there is a better chance of something happening between you two. I hate to be a bad influence, but if something was to happen between AJ and you, just keep your dad out of the loop for a little bit."

Natalie sighed. She was honest with her father. She also obeyed his rules considering the tremendous amount of respect she has for him, even though she was an adult. "Nothing is going to happen between AJ and I," Natalie assured herself as she was saying that to Carmella. "I'm going to tell my dad about my crush on AJ after I make my return this Tuesday on Smackdown."

"Well, have fun with AJ," The Princess of Staten Island mused. "I'll holler at you later. Love you."

"Love you too," Natalie reciprocated before hanging up the phone call. She went into the bathroom and laid her phone down on the counter beside her shower. While she would be taking her shower, she had to think about her feelings for AJ and the respect she has for her dad. She was going to make her dad aware of her crush, but she knew he would against them dating. But, Natalie knew her and AJ were remain having a platonic relationship. So, all she had to worry about was informing her dad of her crush on the Phenomenal one, which was going to cause one big web of drama.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_ I hope everyone enjoys this chapter. Thanks for taking the time to read this chapter. I'd love to know everyone thought's about this story. Thank you!**


	3. A Fog That Blurs The Sane

**_A/N:_ I am beyond grateful to anyone who has followed or favorited this story. I apologize in advance for not making this a long chapter. It's sort of a filler chapter. It got some points across though. I hope you all enjoy this little chapter. Thanks for taking the time to read this.**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I do not own anything associated with WWE. Just the OC character Natalie Michaels and the idea of the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Three: A Fog That Blurs The Sane

* * *

It was Saturday morning and AJ and Natalie were getting ready to see the Georgia Bulldogs game. The last two days hanging out with the Phenomenal One had been wonderful for Natalie. Of course, he'd stayed at her condo Thursday night. Yesterday he drove her to his house and she was in awe of how beautiful his house was. He never really had the best upbringing growing up due to his large family, as she learned during their ride from Florida to Georgia. She already knew that cause of course she watched his podcast with Stone Cold on the WWE Network the year before. So, he was making up for it now.

Natalie didn't own any Georgia Bulldogs attire, so AJ took her to a sports store the previous night before they arrived to his house and she picked out a v-neck Georgia Bulldogs shirt along with a Georgia Bulldogs hat. She matched it with some light blue skinny jeans and white converse. Her blonde hair in a curly ponytail going through the little hole in the back of the hat.

Natalie walked out of the spare room she was staying in into AJ's living room and took a seat. She grabbed her phone and roamed through instagram for a minute until she saw from the corner of her eye AJ coming into view. He was wearing the custom made shirt that he put on instagram and she smiled. He looked so adorable in it. She definitely had to take a picture with him. Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch were always having their fun with him and posting pictures, so why couldn't she?

"Do you mind if we take a picture together?" Natalie asked. AJ flashed her a grin, nodding in approval.

"Of course we can. Anything for you." The Phenomenal one's answer caused Natalie to blush. Something she grew accustomed to doing over the past couple of days. AJ let Natalie grab her phone and position her camera so it was facing them. He put his arm around her and did the too sweet taunt, a smile on both of their faces.

"Thank you." AJ nodded his head in response, acknowledging that she was welcome. Natalie chose the skyline filter and posted it to her instagram timeline with the caption: _I'm too sweet matching with ajstylesp1 She added in the rock on emoji._ "Don't we look so adorable?"

"I know the girl on the left sure is," AJ stated in a flirty tone. He chuckled when he saw Natalie's face once again turn a bright shade of red. "And she's even more adorable whenever she blushes."

Natalie regained her composure. "Alright, your flirting is phenomenal ." She checked the time on her phone and saw that it was time for them to leave. "I think it's time for us to leave."

AJ put on his hat and grabbed his wallet and keys and Natalie grabbed her bag with her belongings and they headed out the door to the stadium to watch the Georgia Bulldogs play. Being the gentleman that he was, he opened Natalie's door and then went over to his side whenever Natalie was situated in her seat. He turned on his truck and put it in drive and proceeded to head to the destination.

"So," Natalie started whenever they were out on the highway. "Don't forget we need to head back to Florida either tonight or tomorrow. I am due for another training session with my dad before my return this Tuesday."

AJ looked over to Natalie and smiled. "I know cause I have to be there too." Natalie smiled at his answer. She certainly hasn't forgot about AJ being there to help her train.

"We're you going to just stay with me again since we both have to head out the same day to head to Smackdown?" The Heartbreak Kid's daughter felt her cheeks turn hot at asking the former WWE champion such a bold question. "I mean, you don't have to... I'm sorry I asked."

AJ chuckled. He thought that Natalie was so cute whenever she got nervous. He then looked over to her, putting his free hand on her thigh. "It's alright, Natalie. I can stay with you again. It would in all honesty be easier and we can be traveling buddies. I think that would be fun."

Natalie let out a sigh of relief. "Okay, cool. Sounds like a plan." Her insides were dying at this point. Her and AJ were obviously becoming good friends, but she was wondering if they could ever become more especially considering their flirting banter was becoming off the charts as off late. Well, more him than her. Carmella did say that AJ was indeed crushing on her. She then groaned to herself when she thought about her dad. Shawn would probably flip shit if he found out Natalie was dating a WWE superstar.

She put those thoughts aside and looked out the window. She was going to enjoy the day with her crush and nothing could ruin that for her.

* * *

It was the following Sunday at the WWE performance center and Shawn, Natalie, and AJ were sitting down in the middle of the ring. Shawn had been eyeing the interactions between AJ and Natalie and he couldn't help but notice the tension was stronger than before. He did see that as positive though because his daughter seemed more determined on working on her new style in the ring thanks to the help of AJ. She was grasping the concept of the technical style better than he gave her credit for.

"Nice job today, hon," Shawn praised. He gave a high-five to Natalie. "I am proud in how short of time you grasped the technical style of wrestling." He saw in the corner of his eye how AJ was smiling at his daughter. He knew that AJ and Natalie would make a wonderful couple but he didn't want to see his daughter dating a fellow wrestler. He knows that she's grown and she can make her own decisions, but the matter of the fact was she was doing so good in building a name for herself that he didn't want her to get distracted with dating. Especially someone in the business because there's unlimited drama. He was involved in that type of situation with a fellow colleague in the 1990's and it nearly ruined him.

"Thanks, dad." Natalie stood up, AJ following suit. "I am ready for my return on Tuesday. It'll be exciting to see everyone's reaction." Natalie sighed, her emotions starting to get the best of her. "I'm also nervous. What if everyone isn't happy to see me? What if I get no reaction at all?"

Shawn stood up. He put his hands on his daughter's shoulders. "Baby, there is nothing for you to worry about. The fans love you. They've been commenting on twitter about how they're ready for you to comeback. Your name has been chanted the past couple of weeks during a couple of segments." Shawn tried his best to reassure his daughter had nothing to worry about.

AJ decided to intervene in the conversation. "I agree with your dad, Natalie. People all over the world have missed you. Even co-workers are saying that they're ready to have you back. It's just not the same without 'ol Natalie Michaels around." He gave Natalie a reassuring smile.

"Thanks guys." She put her arms over Shawn and AJ, giving them a hug for reassuring her that everything would be alright. "You both are the best."

"So, AJ, Natalie," The hall of famer spoke up, "how about we go home, get showered, and change our clothes and I'll grab the rest of the family and we can all head out to eat before you guys head out on the road?" He wanted to take them out because AJ had been a terrific trainer and Natalie did great with her training. Plus, this would give him a chance to know about AJ Styles a little bit more.

Natalie nodded her head and then looked over to AJ and saw he was nodding his head as well. "Sounds great, Dad. How about we meet at 7?"

"Okay, I'll see you guys at the Oceanaire Seafood Room at 7pm." He gave Natalie a hug and AJ a handshake before leaving.

AJ got out of the ring, helping Natalie out as she followed suit. "So, it's nice of your dad to invite us out to eat with the rest of your family," AJ stated as they were heading to Natalie's truck. She decided to let him drive her truck. Natalie gave him a look as they entered her truck. "What's that look for?" AJ questioned as he started Natalie's truck's ignition.

"I just think he's up to something," Natalie explained. "Maybe he is being genuine, but he noticed the flirting we were doing during my training today. I just feel like he wants to keep an eye on me is all."

AJ looked over to Natalie, his eyebrows furrowing. "Why would he want to do that for? It's not like we're dating. We were just having some friendly flirty banter going on."

"I'm sure he wants to see if we're actually dating or not," Natalie stated. "He probably wants to see if I'm sneaking behind his back or not."

The Phenomenal one laughed. "Do you know how silly that sounds?" The look Natalie was giving him was anything but though. "We're not dating. Cause if we were dating, I would have the audacity to tell him."

Natalie sighed and laid her head back. AJ was right; he was the kind of guy who would be straight up with her dad and be honest. Maybe she was being paranoid.

* * *

Natalie and AJ were walking into the Oceanaire Seafood Room, since it was 7pm. AJ seemed unfazed about eating dinner with her family, which was the opposite of what Natalie was feeling. Natalie was feeling quite anxious about the whole situation. She knew AJ got along with anybody that he met, but that still didn't help her nerves any.

When the duo walked inside, they saw Shawn, her stepmom Rebecca, and her siblings Cameron and Cheyenne. They all waved in the direction of Natalie and AJ and the duo made their way over to the table. Natalie took a seat beside her brother Cameron and AJ took the last seat, which was between Natalie and Shawn. Everyone smiled at each other as everyone was finally sat together at the table.

"So, everyone, this is AJ," Natalie introduced the man beside her to her stepmom and siblings. They all knew who AJ was from watching him on TV, but none of them met him in person. "And AJ, this is my stepmom, Rebecca, my sister, Cheyenne, and my brother Cameron." Natalie pointed to each person as she said their name.

"It's so nice to meet you in person," Rebeeca stated. "Shawn was telling me that you were doing a good job helping me out with Natalie at the performance center." Natalie smiled knowing that her father was talking positively about her crush. That was a good sign.

The Phenomenal one smiled and nodded his head towards Shawn, in what seemed to be in appreciation. "Well, Natalie is doing a good job in training. She is one of the most determined people I've ever seen." He glanced over to Natalie and gave her a quick smile.

There was some silence as their waitress headed over to the table. She looked over to Natalie and AJ, but kept her eyes on AJ as she introduced herself. "Good evening, my name is Mya and I'll be taking over you all this evening." Natalie rolled her eyes as Mya was keeping eye contact with AJ. Mya seemed to forget real quick that Natalie was there too. "What can I get you to drink this evening?" Mya smiled at the Phenomenal one and Natalie thought she was going to puke.

"Water with lemon," Natalie ordered. Mya caught glimpse of Natalie long enough to get her order and write it down before reverting her eyes back to AJ. Natalie rolled her eyes again.

"I'll have the same," AJ said. He looked long enough to look at Mya as he gave his order. He was oblivious to the way Mya was looking at him because he was looking at Natalie and wondering why she had such a sour look on her face. He smiled at her, even though she didn't notice.

"I'll be right back with your drinks and then I'll come and take all your orders," Mya stated. She looked at the Michaels family who all nodded their heads and thanked her before giving AJ one last look before walking away. However; AJ was still fixated on Natalie.

Shawn took notice of how AJ was looking at his daughter and he his suspicions were confirmed all along; AJ did like his daughter more than platonically. He liked the Phenomenal one, but he still stood by the fact that he thought that Natalie shouldn't date a wrestler. "AJ, that waitress seemed to like you," Shawn stated nonchalantly.

"Did she?" The Georgia native went from looking at Natalie to Shawn. "I didn't pay attention."

"Yeah," Cam finally spoke for the first time since AJ and Natalie sat the table. "She was smiling at you nonstop and kept looking at you. She has it bad for you, dude."

"It's kinda like the way that AJ was looking at Natalie," Cheyenne stated. AJ's cheeks turned red at that statement made by Natalie's little sister. He didn't realize that he was being studied as he was looking at Natalie while the waitress was at the table. Natalie's face was matching his. She looked over to her sister and gave her a mean look. Cheyenne mouthed, "I'm sorry."

Rebecca decided to change the subject completely, noticing the embarrassed looks on the face of AJ and Natalie. "So, Natalie, are you excited about your return this Tuesday?"

Natalie didn't have time to answer that question as Mya came back to the table and sat down Natalie and AJ's drinks. Then, she took the their order. As Mya was taking each of their orders, she would advert her eyes to AJ, stealing a glance of him. She knew that he was probably with the blonde that was sitting beside him, but that didn't stop her from looking because he was such a handsome man to look at. Mya shot one last smile to AJ before walking away from the table once again.

"Back to the question," Natalie started. "Yes, I am ecstatic about returning Tuesday. But, I'm also nervous because I'm not sure if the WWE Universe is going to be excited to see me again or not."

Cheyenne scoffed at her sister. "C'mon Natalie, you are one of the most popular women. I bet your return will cause one of the biggest pops." Natalie smiled as she noticed her sister was picking up on some of the wrestling lingo.

"Yeah, sis, you are getting too worried about nothing," Cam started to explain, "you are one of the best there is. I can tell the difference in not only in the women's division, but Smackdown as a whole. It's not the same without you. The only person worth watching is AJ." He looked over to AJ. "And, no, I'm not saying that just because you're sitting right there, Mr. Phenomenal one." That last statement made everyone laugh.

"I keep on telling you that, hon," Shawn stated. "Everything will be fine. You'll have Carmella there with you, so that'll be good." He took a glance between AJ and Natalie. He couldn't deny that he certainly trusted his daughter with him. She seemed comfortable in his presence. "Plus, AJ will be there too. He'll definitely make sure things go smoothly with your return."

AJ nodded his head. "I will most certainly make sure of that."

Natalie smiled. This dinner was going to well, maybe a little too well. Sure, she was embarrassed by her little sister, but things went up after that. The food arrived and things continued to go smoothly after that. Natalie just hoped that things were too good to be true at this moment, especially considering her dad was adamant on her not dating a fellow wrestler. If she only knew that her dad knew about their mutual crush on each other, even though she didn't know about her crush crushing on her. Anyways, she was just going to enjoy this night with the awesome company she was with.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Maybe Shawn will start to warm up more on the idea about AJ and Natalie. He seems to be catching onto their chemistry. In other news,** **Natalie's return will finally be happening in the next chapter. Yay! Thanks for reading this chapter.**


	4. I Am Burning Brighter

**_A/N:_ Guys, thanks so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. It means so much to me. You all are great. I hope you all enjoy this chapter of ETO.**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I do not own anything associated with WWE. Just the OC character Natalie Michaels and the idea of the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Four: I Am Burning Brighter

* * *

It's near the end of the six woman tag team match that pits Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, and Naomi against the trio of Natalya, Lana, and Tamina. Miss Money in the Bank, Carmella and her associate, James Ellsworth are on commentary.

Charlotte is thinking the Figure Eight on Lana, is saved by Natalya, who chucks Charlotte Flair into the turnbuckle. Becky Lynch comes into the ring and his the bexploder onto Natalya. Out of nowhere, Tamina lands a superkick in the face of Becky Lynch. Tamina celebrates for a short amount of time before turning around to be flattened by Naomi who lands the flying crossbody. The match finally settles back in, with Lana surprising Charlotte Flair with a O'Connor roll, which gives Lana the near fall.

The Queen grabs the The Ravishing Russian and applies the Figure Four and bridges back into the Figure Eight, causing Lana to tap out almost immediately. The crowd cheers in delight as the trio of Charlotte, Becky, and Naomi pick up the victory.

However; Charlotte doesn't have much time to celebrate as Natalya attacks Charlotte afterwards, ramming her into the announce table and proceeding to grab a steel chair, hoping to cause some damage to Charlotte as she previously did two weeks prior at the Hell In A Cell Pay-Per-View. Charlotte manages to hit Natalya with a big boot leaving Natalya to scurry away.

A familiar guitar entrance comes over the speakers and after eleven seconds of the guitar intro, the lyrics: "Am I Brave Enough? Am I Strong Enough? To Follow The Desire That Burns From Within" come through the arena and the crowd stands, cheering loudly at the arrival of Natalie Michaels. She's standing there at top of the entrance ramp wearing a black tanktop with a black blazer over it, blue skinny jeans, and black pumps, her blonde hair in loose beach waves. Carmella, Charlotte, and Natalya looked in awe as they saw the daughter of HBK with a microphone in her hand.

"I have a feeling that the people of Seattle, Washington have missed me," Natalie stated with a knowing smirk on her face. "It feels good to be back." The crowd still hadn't died down in seeing the appearance of Natalie, the cheering continuing.

"Now, I've been gone for awhile and I see that things have certainly changed. First of all, Charlotte Flair is now on Smackdown Live, so let me introduce myself to you, Miss Flair, I am Natalie Michaels." She smiled as the crowd cheered as she introduced herself to The Queen. This was a dream match to many and there was a much bigger chance that it could happen since the two second generation women were on the same brand. "Secondly, Nattie is currently the Smackdown women's champion. Congrats to you, Nattie. However; I believe that you are disgracing your family's legacy with the way you are representing yourself as the women's champion. You made yourself get disqualified at Hell In A Cell so you could keep your championship. I wonder how your Uncle Bret feels knowing his niece resorts to cheap handed tactics. Looks like you're the not the best there was, the best there is, and the best there ever will be, if you continue to pull crap like that." The crowd 'oooed' as Natalya looked at Natalie in disgust. "And lastly, I see that the Fabulous Carmella is now the current Miss Money In The Bank. I think it if it wasn't for your lapdog you have, you wouldn't even have half the amount of success you currently have." Carmella glared at the returning superstar, an expression of anger coming onto her beautiful face.

The audience started shouting, "Nata-lie, Nata-lie, Nata-lie." Natalie soaked in the moment and put the microphone back up to her pink lips. "I want to put all of you on notice and warn you ladies, Natalie Michaels in back and better than ever. I will start back where I left off and that's regaining my positioning as the top woman on Smackdown live." The crowd cheered as Natalie's entrance music "I Am The Fire" by Halestorm started back up and she walked through the curtain confidentially, the women awestruck as the revelation of Natalie Michaels returning.

* * *

Natalie arrived backstage and let the tears of joy roll her down her face. She felt someone wrap their arms around her from behind and she turned her head back and saw her best friend, Carmella was the one behind her. She turned around and wrapped her best friend in the biggest hug. Carmella stroked Natalie's hair, letting Natalie finish having her moment. She cupped Natalie's face, wiping the excess tears away. "I can't believe I am crying right now, I just couldn't contain myself." Natalie giggled, wiping at her eyes.

"I am so happy for you, honey," Carmella stated. She smiled at her best friend. The Princess of Staten Island was excited to see the reaction that Natalie received during her return entrance. She had to make sure that she didn't break character.

The rest of the Smackdown Live women's roster came around and enveloped Natalie in a group hug. It felt nice to be welcomed back by her fellow Smackdown Live peers. She got along with all of the women, however; there was a hint of jealousy on her part for Charlotte Flair because of the close bond she held with AJ Styles. But, she knew Charlotte was a good person to be around. They had some very good conversations that Natalie held dear to her heart.

"Thank you ladies for welcoming me back." Natalie looked around at the group of women who were circled around her. "I appreciate you all welcoming me home."

Natalya wrapped an arm around Natalie. "It's good to have you back, name cousin." Even though Natalie and Natalya's names were different they were more similar than not, and since they were different by two letter, the two ladies dubbed themselves as name cousins.

"Thanks, name cousin." Natalie wrapped Natalya in a hug.

"I can't wait to put you in the dis-arm-her once again," Becky Lynch stated, causing Natalie to laugh. The orange haired woman laughed too and wrapped her arms around the blonde. "Seriously, it's good to have you back woman. Now, Carmella can shut up about how seeing Charlotte and I acting like bff goals makes her feel depressed cause she doesn't have her best friend around."

Carmella snorted and rolled her eyes. "I can't help that you and Charlotte acting all best friendish was making me feel depressed about not having my bff around."

Natalie put her arm around Carmella's shoulders. "Mella, I'm here now and we're about to show Charlotte and Becky who the real bffs of Smackdown live are."

Becky and Charlotte put their arms around each other. "It's on. Bex and Char vs Natalie and Mella. We'll see who the real bffs of Smackdown live truly are," Becky stated, Charlotte standing there with a smirk on her face. Charlotte removed her positioning from Becky and walked towards Natalie, who removed her positioning from Carmella.

"I'm glad that we're finally working on the same show. Now, maybe we can have that dream match that everyone has talked about." It caught Natalie off guard as Charlotte embraced Natalie. Charlotte shot Natalie a little smile before walking away.

"Ready to feel the glow again?" Naomi asked. Natalie nodded her head yes before giggling at Naomi's enthusiasm. Naomi ruffled Natalie's hair before walking away.

Lana and Tamina just smiled and nodded their heads at Natalie before walking away, Natalya and Becky following along. Carmella decided to stick around with her best friend. "So, are we waiting for someone Phenomenal?"

Natalie rolled her eyes, a blush sustaining her cheeks. A frown immediately hit her face as she saw AJ laughing and carrying on with Charlotte Flair. They must have caught up with each other as she was headed back to the locker room. "I don't think there's no need in waiting up for him. He looks pretty preoccupied at the moment."

She walked away, her head bowed down as she walked towards to the women's locker room. Carmella walking beside her, her arm entwined with Natalie's. She already knew what Natalie was upset about, so she didn't bother questioning her best friend. Carmella was just going to let Natalie have her little moment and let her have her space. She knew there was nothing going on between AJ and Charlotte, but she just needed to let Natalie believe that. The Princess of Staten Island saw the attraction between Natalie and AJ.

But, for right now, Carmella was just going to let Natalie let out whatever emotions she had. There was going to be a day where both Natalie and AJ saw the light and quit fighting their feelings for each other.

Carmella smirked to herself as she saw the way the Phenomenal one stared at Natalie as they walked by. There was definitely an attraction there.

* * *

The former US champion just finished his segment in the ring with current WWE champion, Jinder Mahal. He smiled as he saw Natalie sitting at one of the catering tables, playing on her phone and eating an apple. She looked like she was ready to leave for the night, dressed in a gray sweater with blue skinny jeans and black and white patterned flats. Her hair was currently up in a tight bun on top of her head, showing off the full features of her beautiful face.

"Whatcha up to?" He asked, taking a seat beside her. He made her jump, which caused him to chuckle at her.

"Just checking my instagram feed." She showed him her phone, which had instagram on the screen. She was replying back to some of the WWE Universe who were commenting on the photo of her during her return. She was standing on top of the entrance ramp.

"Your return was great. Not going to lie; I may have gotten a tad bit excited when I heard 'I Am The Fire' blaring through the speakers."

Natalie blushed. "Thanks. I was so nervous before going out there. But, when I finally got on stage and started talking, all my nerves went away. I forgot how much I loved being out there performing."

"Hopefully soon, we'll be able to see that dream match between Natalie Michaels and Charlotte Flair. That's got five stars written all over it." AJ smiled. He was definitely one of the people wanting that match to happen. Now, it was possible since both of the second generation women were on the same show. His two favorite women on the Smackdown roster. Even though, Natalie was definitely number one.

"I'm excited about the possibility of facing Charlotte. She'd be the best person for me to try my new wrestling style with."

"Agreed." AJ shot Natalie a charming smile. "Well, I'm going to go and get changed. I'll meet you and Mella out by the parking garage." It was going to be interesting riding with Natalie and Carmella together. He never rode with them together before, so it was going to an adventure for sure. He knew that the ladies would be make it an interesting and fun road trip.

"Sounds good." Natalie smiled as she watched The Phenomenal one walk away. She was glad that he at least wanted to travel with her still. He figured since he was back on the road with all his peers, he would want to travel with someone else. So, maybe she was overreacting when she saw AJ and Charlotte interacting earlier. They were best friends, so of course they would be smiling and goofing around. There was no need for her to be jealous though if they weren't even dating.

She got up from the table, threw her eaten apple in the trashcan, and headed back to the women's locker room to grab her belongings. Tonight was a really good night for her and she hoped it continued traveling with her best friend and her crush. She was certainly feeling on fire at the moment.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **What did you think? Did Natalie's return turn out okay? Thanks so much for reading.**


	5. I'm In Too Deep

**_A/N:_ Sorry about the late update. But I would like to say, thanks so much for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. It means so much to me. Reading the reviews and knowing people are favoriting and following this story means the world. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter. **

**_Disclamer:_ I do not own anything associated with WWE. Just the OC character Natalie Michaels and the idea of the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Five: I'm In Too Deep

* * *

The Phenomenal One was driving, while Natalie was riding in the front passenger seat and Carmella sat in the backseat. Smackdown was finally over with and the roster was headed back to the hotel they were booked to stay at. The Smackdown roster would be getting ready to fly out of the states for an international tour in the morning.

"It honestly couldn't have been a better time for me to come back." Natalie took a sip of the water she brought with her for the trip before setting it back in the cup holder that was between her and AJ. "Tonight was my return and then the next couple of days we'll be traveling to other countries. This is really an exciting time for me."

AJ smiled and nodded. "It really is a good time for you to be back. I might not be on the whole tour like y'all because if Wyatt is still out sick before the TLC Pay-Per-View Sunday, they called and asked me if I would wrestle Balor in Wyatt's place. I was not going to turn that down, especially if that's something that the fans want to see."

Natalie turned into fangirl mode, AJ Styles vs Finn Balor was always a dream match of hers and that fact that it could happening in a matter of days made her want to squeal. She was be a bit bummed AJ wouldn't be staying the whole tour, but it made up for the fact a dream match could be happening. "That's like some of the best news everrrrrr!"

AJ laughed. "Why do you say that? I thought you would be bummed I could be leaving early?"

Natalie blushed so hard. So, Carmella chipped in. "You don't understand, AJ, you vs Finn is an absolute dream match for Natalie. She's as much a sucker for these dream match scenarios as the next WWE fan."

Natalie, whose cheeks were still burning, merely nodded in agreement.

"Why, Natalie, you're not a mark are you?" The driver asked wholeheartedly. AJ was aware Natalie was a huge fan of professional wrestling even before she entered the business and he was well aware of her passion, but he didn't know how deep it ran.

The daughter of the Heartbreak Kid, raised her hands in surrender and smiled. "Dang, you caught me." Her actions invoked a reaction from her fellow traveling buddies. "I don't want to sound too conceded, but a dream match between Charlotte and I is on my dream match list, especially now that we've both grown as competitors."

"No way!" The Phenomenal one mused. "Does Charlotte even know about this? I bet she would love to hear that. She's told me before that she couldn't wait for you return because she wanted the opportunity to face you, now that you two had evolved into the top women's superstars on the roster."

"She's told me the same thing too," Carmella exclaimed. Natalie turned around to look at her best friend and smiled. "She really respects you, hon."

"I respect Charlotte too. She's such an amazing person to interact with in the business," Natalie stated. "I just hated we barely crossed paths in NXT. They had me feuding with you first Mella, which I am very grateful for by the way because that is how we started becoming close, and then it was with Dana Brooke and Emma before Asuka started feuding with them and then Charlotte, Sasha, and Becky got called to the Main roster. Then, there was that title feud with Bayley based on respect, but I never got a win over her at least for the title. I did beat her in a couple of non title matches. Then, there was that short feud where I teamed with you Mella to go against Alexa and Nia. Then, you, Alexa, and Nia got called up to the main roster during the draft and I was just kind of lost in the shuffle." Natalie actually had a fun time reminiscing the time she was in NXT. There was a period of time where she was struggling with her confidence because her fellow NXT classmates were getting drafted and she was still stuck in NXT with no clear direction. But, that was a year ago and how things change in a years time.

"Wasn't it awesome though how you made your main roster debut and we got to work with each other for a little bit?" The women's money in the bank holder asked. Natalie nodded. It was late 2016 and it was a couple weeks before the TLC PPV and Carmella and Natalya were ganging up on Nikki Bella whom was embroiled in a rivalry with both of them onscreen and Natalie made her onscreen main roster debut to help Nikki fight off Carmella and Natalya. While Nikki vs Carmella was already on the TLC card in a No Disqualification match, it was announced that Natalie vs Natalya would be in the first ever women's TLC match. Both of the daughters of wrestling legends made the most of the historic match and a lot of people claimed it stole the show.

"I was excited we finally got to wrestle each other one on one at the Elimination Chamber Pay-Per-View in February," Natalie stated with a smile and Carmella eagerly nodded her head in agreement. That Pay-Per-View made history because it was the first time four women's matches were on a pay-per-view card. It was Naomi vs Alexa Bliss for the Smackdown women's title, Becky Lynch vs Mickie James, Nikki Bella vs Natalya, and then Natalie vs Carmella. That was what made Natalie enjoy being a part of the Smackdown Live roster because they utilized all their women as opposed to RAW who always seemed to have the same ole women's matches, even though no offense to Charlotte who seemed to either wrestle Sasha Banks and Bayley all the time during that period of time.

"I think that match with Natalie was your best match, Carmella." AJ didn't want to sound like he doubting Carmella's talents because he certainly wasn't doing that because she did have some good matches with Nikki Bella, but Natalie seemed to bring out a different side of Carmella in the ring and AJ enjoyed seeing that play out as their match progressed while he was getting ready for Elimination Chamber match that fateful night. "You two ladies have such good chemistry in the ring."

"I agree with that," Carmella said. "She did bring out the best in me."

Natalie blushed as the two gushed about that match at the Elimination Chamber. "Well, it's my job to go out there and have the best match possible. But, it also helps I was working with my best friend. And you know, best friends can make the best worst enemies. Just look at Lita and Trish. They were so close offscreen, but onscreen they made it feel like they really hated each other. Same with Charlotte and Becky and with Sasha and Bayley."

They arrived at the hotel, and Natalie thought the car ride went well even though she didn't expect she'd be the topic of discussion during the ride. She grabbed her water and got out of the car, heading towards the trunk that AJ just popped open. She grabbed her bags, waiting for Carmella since Carmella was also her roommate for the night.

AJ shut the trunk and looked at the females in front of him. "Well, that's everything. Thanks ladies for inviting to ride with y'all, it was fun."

"Thanks for driving us," Carmella and Natalie said in unison.

Natalie couldn't help but stare at AJ as he walking in the other direction towards his motel room. She wasn't even listening to what Carmella was saying to her. Natalie did know one thing though: she was in too deep in her feelings for the Phenomenal one.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **What did you think of this chapter? Sorry it was short. Anyways, I hoped you all enjoyed it regardless.**


	6. Greatest Fan Of Your Life

**_A/N:_ Thanks for all the love for this story. It has been so fun to write. I hope that everyone enjoys this chapter. This was one of my favorites to write so far. I really do appreciate anyone who has reviewed, followed, or favorited this story. I like reading the reviews to see what you all think and I may even take some ideas into context. None the less, here is the new chapter.**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I do not own anything associated with WWE. Just the OC character Natalie Michaels and the idea of the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Six: Greatest Fan Of Your Life

* * *

Monday Night Raw was in Green Bay, Wisconsin and the Smackdown Live crew were in the arena that the RAW superstars were in because later on in the evening there was going to be a segment where the Smackdown Live superstars were going to invade RAW during the last few minutes of the show. Natalie, Carmella, Alexa Bliss, and Nia Jax were all sitting together in catering, talking about whatever was on their minds.

"That match between AJ and Finn at TLC last night was incredible," Alexa stated. She was well aware of Natalie's crush on AJ and also the fact that AJ vs Finn was a dream match of hers, so of course she was going to bring it up. "I bet you needed a wet floor sign didn't you, Natalie? Considering that a dream match was happening and that AJ was looking ever so dreamy."

Natalie laughed even though her cheeks were very red and she could feel the heat; she couldn't help but laugh at her friend who calls herself the Goddess. "Lex, you just love embarrassing me don't you?" The RAW women's champion merely shrugged her shoulders and smirked in response. "Nia, please tell me, how do you put up with her on a daily basis?"

The Irresistible Force chuckled. "I'm not sure, Natalie. I ask myself that question every day."

Alexa rolled her eyes. "You girls know that you love me. So, shut it."

All four of the girls laughed. Natalie had to admit that she missed having Alexa on the same brand as her. She was glad that Alexa was with her best friend, Nia on the same brand though. Nia was really nice and unlike her character on television. She enjoyed this time she was having with the girls sitting with her.

"How was the trip?" Nia questioned. "I bet you all had fun. I can't believe that AJ flew overnight to make it for the TLC PPV. That shows true dedication."

Didn't Natalie ever know. She knew how dedicated the Phenomenal one was. She hated that he had to leave the trip early for the TLC PPV because she was certainly enjoying him being around. While he was there though, the group of Carmella, Natalie, AJ, Natalya, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Randy Orton, Bobby Roode, and Shinsuke Nakamura were all sightseeing and Natalie could've sworn that AJ was being extra flirty with her but she knew she didn't need to overthink the situation.

"Natalie was totally bummed whenever AJ left." Carmella nudged her best friend's shoulder. "She didn't get that pout off her face until we got on the plane to come here."

"I'm sure she's happy now because she knows that a certain Phenomenal one is here in this building," Alexa mused. Natalie rolled her eyes. Her friends could be so immature sometimes. But, they amused her. "Are you sure we don't need to get the wet floor sign whenever AJ teams up with Seth and Dean to start off the show?"

"Geez, you make it sound like I am obsessed with the dude or something."

Carmella spoke up, "I mean you do like the guy a lot. We just want to make sure you can keep your lady boner intact."

Natalie's eyebrows furrowed at her best friend. "Ladyboner? Seriously, Mella?"

"I'm just saying..." The current Miss Money In The Bank holder merely held up her hands in defense. "You might not say anything whenever you see AJ, but your actions speak for you."

"It's not like the feeling isn't mutual," Little Miss Bliss exclaimed. "Before you got injured and I was still with on the Smackdown roster, I remember how close you and Styles were getting. You two would hang out during the shows and even go on little dates."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "We didn't go on 'dates.'" She put dates on airquotes because that was what Alexa described her and AJ going and eating after the show was, but she was assuring that that wasn't the case. She did like that there was a possibility that the Phenomenal one did indeed like her. "You think he liked me too?"

"Honey, there is no past tense, it is so obvious that he likes you still." Carmella looked over to Alexa and Nia who were nodding their heads in agreement before turning her attention back to Natalie. "See, Lex and Nia agree with me."

"Whatever, I still think I'm going to be in the friendzone." With that said, Natalie grabbed the empty plate that previously had her salad on it and her empty water bottle and threw the said items in the trash. She was heading to the women's locker room to get ready for the evening, not before running into a muscular figure.

* * *

The blonde looked into the blue eyes of none other than The Phenomenal one. She took in that he was wearing red tonight which was ironic considering he was on the Smackdown roster and the Smackdown roster was invading RAW in the main event segment. Maybe he was doing that since he was teaming up with Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose in the opening match.

"It's a pleasure bumping into you," AJ stated with a smile. One that could make Natalie's panties drop in a heartbeat. "How was your flight back to the states?"

"It was alright. I'm feeling jet lagged. I honestly don't know how you went aboard such a long flight and then managed to put on an instant classic with Finn."

AJ smirked. "I see someone saw my match with Balor. So, you thought it was an instant classic, huh?"

"Let's not get a big head now." Natalie rolled her eyes and laughed. "You know you two put on such a good match. Definitely the match of the night. It was phenomenal."

"I'm glad you enjoyed the match. Did it exceed your expectations as far as it being a dream match of yours?"

"Of course it did. Carmella was making fun of me because I was marking out the whole time." AJ chuckled because he could imagine Carmella making fun of Natalie for getting overexcited. "She just didn't understand how excited I was that this match was happening."

"You're so adorable." The daughter of Shawn Michaels couldn't help but immediately blush at the sudden compliment towards her. "I bet you were even more adorable whenever you were watching the match. You were rooting for me, right?" AJ raised a curious eyebrow.

"Don't let Carmella know that I told you this, but her and I had a bet on your match." She smiled when she was the amused look come upon her male counterparts face. "She placed a bet on Finn as The Demon and I placed a bet on you."

AJ chuckled. "Well, damn, Carmella thanks for not having faith in me. At least you had faith in me and placed a bet on me." He was genuinely flattered that Natalie had believed in him enough to place a bet on him even though he knew beforehand he was going to be putting the Demon over so the Demon could stay undefeated.

"I'm team Styles for life." She smiled at him which was reciprocated.

"And I'm team Michaels for life." He did the too sweet sign hoping she'd reciprocate and she obliged. "Looks like we're going to be each other's fans for life. And that, my friend is too sweet." Their too sweet gestures touched each other.

"Well, I need to go and get ready for the evening. I'm excited about this segment about Smackdown live invading the RAW roster. Carmella, Natalya, Becky, and I will be doing a faceoff with Sasha, Bayley, Alicia, and Mickie. So, that'll be fun. That's really the only thing we'll be doing though. We're going to be off on the side the rest of the time watching you and the other guys beat up on the RAW roster."

"I'll see you later, then." AJ gave Natalie a wave before walking away. Natalie just stood there, hearts for eyes as she was walking AJ walk away towards the gorilla for his match with Ambrose and Rollins against Miz and The Bar.

* * *

RAW general manager, Kurt Angle was in the ring cutting a promo about to announce who the participants for his RAW male team were going to be until Shane McMahon's music hit. The camera angle moved over to the audience where Shane McMahon and the Smackdown live roster were coming down. Shane was leading the pack along with the New day, Baron Corbin and Becky Lynch behind them. Natalie and Carmella were behind Becky and Baron respectively. Even though Natalie and Carmella were supposed to enemies onscreen, it made sense for them to just get along for the time being due to a common enemy and Natalie was going to cherish being beside her best friend in the segment. And then there was the rest of the Smackdown roster minus AJ Styles. AJ wasn't with them because he was going to pop out of nowhere when the Shield attack was going to be taking place.

Shane entered the ring with the Smackdown roster circling around the ring. Shane grabbed a microphone and looked into the blue eyes of a flabbergasted Kurt Angle. "Under Siege." was the simple words spoken from the Smackdown commissioner to the RAW general manager. Kurt just shocked, left ring leaving the blue team behind. Shane watched the Olympic gold medalist before raising the microphone up to his lips and looking around at his roster before saying, "Blue team, go get 'em."

Unity was on display as the blue brand headed backstage to siege the red brand. The first stop was where Apollo Crews and Titus O'Neil were standing. Xavier Woods mocked Titus O'Neil by doing his signature pose and saying, "Titus Worldwide." Then all three members of the New Day came closer to Titus Worldwide. Xavier got in Apollo Crews face. "Apollo Crews, what's going on?" Xavier asked, extending his hand out. Apollo almost accepted but it turned out to be a trap because the guys on Smackdown live started attacking the men of Titus Worldwide.

The blue brand looked on with amusement. It was now time to take down more members of the red brand and show them that Smackdown could be a dangerous threat.

The next stop was in the men's locker room where Chad Gable confronted his old American Alpha team partner, Jason Jordan. The rest of the Smackdown live crew followed suit and started beating on the onscreen son of Kurt Angle. Some more of the RAW roster came out of the bathroom, most notably Matt Hardy, and they were attacked for their efforts in trying to help out their RAW counterpart. The men of the blue brand laughed and left the locker room, leaving in that locker room in a heap.

The men met back up with the women and continued walking down the hallway looking to see who would be left lying next courtesy of the Smackdown brand. The New Day and Chad Cable were in front and woo-ed when they saw who was standing before them. The camera zoomed out and there was Sasha Banks, Mickie James, Alicia Fox, and Bayley standing there. The crowd roared whenever Becky Lynch, Natalie, Carmella, and Natalya came out from the pack and stood toe to toe with the women. Natalie was clad in her Smackdown live shirt with blue skinny jeans tucked into black flatted booties, and beside her was Carmella who was also dressed in a Smackdown live shirt which was made into a crop top with black skinny jeans tucked into pink timberlands. Becky was on the other side of Natalie with her blue shirt on with blue jeans tucked into black booties. And then there was Natalya who was wearing a blue brand shirt with blue skinny jeans and black vans. The girls on the RAW team were all clad in their wrestling attire.

The ladies of Smackdown live took it to the women of RAW. The men seemed to be impressed with how the ladies of the blue brand took out the ladies of the red brand. Once again, the roster took off to see who they could lay out next.

Without warning, Seth Rollins and Dean Ambrose came flying off some crates landing onto most of the Smackdown roster. Their dominance didn't last long considering there was only two of them against the whole Smackdown live roster. AJ Styles finally came into view and helped partake in the assault of two-thirds of the Shield.

Along the way, they found Kurt Angle and he was drug back out the arena by Baron Corbin and Rusev. The rest of the Smackdown live roster was following suit. Natalie had to hide her smile at that moment because she was walking inbetween Carmella and AJ. The roster once again stood ringside as the RAW general manager walked into the ring and confronted Shane McMahon.

Shane looked into Kurt's eyes and stated, "At Survivor Series, I want you to bring your A-game, I want you to bring your gold medals, what's left of your RAW roster and we're all going to finish what we started." Kurt just looked at Shane with disdain. Shane O-Mac got a glint of amusement in his eyes. "Oh, it's true, It's damn true!"

The blue brand looked on with pride as their commissioner laid down the gauntlet for Survivor Series. It was sure going to be an interesting pay-per-view.

* * *

Natalie walked out of the women's locker room changed out of her attire she wore for RAW. She was now dressed in a maroon sweater, black skinny jeans, and black high heeled booties. Carmella was beside her dressed in army cargo pants tucked into black highed heel ankle boots with a gray sweater. The girls were carpooling together for the road once again.

"I'm totally starving right now and I don't want to go through some drive thru," Carmella stated. "Since we both look cute, why don't we go and eat at Applebee's? They stay open until 1am. We'll have time to make it there and eat." That sounded good to Natalie. She was winded and starving by this point. Sitting down and eating with her best friend didn't sound too shabby.

"Sounds like a good idea. I could really go for their oriental chicken salad. I might even rebel and put fried chicken in my salad instead of grilled chicken." Carmella chuckled at her best friend. Natalie had been on such a health kick lately. She knew that Natalie was trying to become more fit, but she also knew that Natalie needed to let loose. "Are you laughing at me? What's so funny?"

"You think that putting fried chicken in your salad is rebelling?" Carmella was amused and Natalie rolled her eyes. "You're so freaking cute. That's only like an extra hundred calories. You can burn that off in no time."

"Mella, you know that I am trying to change my image and become fitter. I mean look at you, Nikki Bella, Charlotte, Becky, Bayley. All of you ladies are so beautiful and fit. All of you have abs and awesome arm muscles. I don't even have abs or big arms like you ladies do. I am toned, but not fit."

Carmella frowned. "I didn't realize that you felt so insecure. I'm sorry that I picked on you then." She let go of her suitcase long enough to give Natalie a hug. "I just want you to know that you are so beautiful. I'm super jealous because your beauty is so natural. You were minimal makeup and you look more beautiful than any of us girls who put on a shit ton of it on."

Natalie chuckled. "You always have a way with words." She did feel much better now. She was so lucky to have Carmella be her best friend. She got out her phone, getting ready to take a selfie of them two. Natalie faced the phone towards them and they posed. Natalie had a smile on her face and Carmella was sorta diagonal from Natalie, pressing her lips up to Natalie's cheek. Natalie thought the picture was adorable. She posted the picture with the caption: _it's amazing how one common enemy can bring people together. Get ready RAW because Smackdown is going to show you who the dominant brand really is. #underseige._ That was her way of posting a picture with Carmella without technically breaking kayfabe.

The best friends each grabbed their suitcases and walked out of the arena. Natalie smiled. She was sure having such a good time being back on the road. She was the greatest fan of her life right now.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** _**What did you think of this chapter? Thanks for reading. Don't be afraid to review, follow, or favorite! Thank you.**


	7. You're Insecure Don't Know What For

**_A/N:_ Sorry for the late update. Thanks for everyone who has stuck with this story. I also appreciate all the reviews, new followers and new favorites. You guys rock. Without further ado, here is the brand new chapter.**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I just own the plot and the OC Natalie Michaels. I don't anything associated with the WWE. **

* * *

**ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Seven: You're Insecure Don't Know What For

* * *

Natalie was at the gym, focusing on her strength training for the day. She'd told Carmella the night before that she was working on getting toner because she didn't feel like she looked as good as the rest of the women's division. Most of the women had abs and toned arms and she while she had a toned stomach and her arms looked decent, she didn't have as many muscles to show for as the rest of the women; at least that's what she felt like.

Carmella assured her over and over she had nothing to be insecure about, but Natalie still felt like that she didn't have the "look." Her goal was to work out and train hard so until she achieved the look she wanted. She was currently doing deadlifts with one hundred pounds; not as heavy as some of the other women could lift, but that was the most she's ever deadlifted since she came back from her knee injury and she was proud of herself. She would to have to message Carmella and tell her she made it to one hundred pounds.

In the mirror behind her, she saw Charlotte Flair and Becky Lynch doing deadlifts too. Becky at one time could deadlift one hundred and eighty pounds, but Becky's only gotten toner since Natalie was out with her injury. Charlotte could deadlift over two hundred pounds and that made Natalie envious. They both got recognition for how toned and good they looked, but when it came to that topic, Natalie felt like she got overlooked.

Getting the negative thoughts out of her head, Natalie took a deep breath and went back to her deadlifts, starting on her third round. She had three more to go before she moved onto something else. She was doing six sets of deadlifts with ten reps each round.

After finishing her third set, she felt the sweat dripping all down her face and back and she decided to discard her turquoise tanktop she was wearing, revealing a black sports bra with _Nike_ written across the bra. She laid the shirt down across one of the nearby barbells that weren't being used and took a sip of water before getting ready for the fourth set.

Even though she was tired by this point, she thought about how much progress she's made and how her looks were going to improve and that got her motivated.

* * *

AJ and Natalie were eating lunch at Buck Bradley's saloon and eatery which was down the street from the Bradley Center, where Smackdown would be taking place. Much to her surprise, she saw a text from him when she got to her motel room from the gym asking if she wanted to get lunch with him before the show and she could just ride with him to the arena. Her and Carmella were currently sharing a room, so she asked for Carmella's approval because she didn't want to leave her best friend behind. Carmella insisted that Natalie go eat lunch with AJ or she would, 'throat punch her.' Carmella said that she would ask Nattie to ride with her since Nattie was riding with Becky and Charlotte to the arena.

Carmella texted her a few minutes ago saying that Nattie agreed to ride with her so Carmella wouldn't be riding alone. Natalie was glad that everything worked out in her favor. So, now she found herself sitting in the eatery with the Phenomenal one and she wasn't complaining at all. He ordered the classic B.L.T to eat and she ordered something called 'Charlies Dream' which was a sandwich with their homemade tuna salad with lettuce and tomato. Both got water to drink with their meal.

"So, guess what?!" There was such an enthusiastic tone in Natalie's voice and AJ found her excitement to be quite adorable. There was an intriguing look that came upon his handsome face.

"What?!" The Phenomenal one asked with mock enthusiasm. Natalie glared at him and that made him chuckle. "Sorry. I couldn't resist. Seriously, what?"

"I was able to bench press one hundred pounds this morning at the gym. That's the most I've been able to bench press since I've came back from my knee injury."

A proud look came upon AJ's face. He knew how hard she's been training as of late. He wasn't sure what had her so motivated, but he was happy for her and her new found motivation. "That's great news, Natalie. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks," Natalie blushed. "I'm trying to get into great shape."

AJ's eyebrows furrowed. "But, you're already in great shape."

Natalie opened her mouth to get ready to speak, but their food arrived. Each got their respective meals and they thanked the waitress before digging into their food. Natalie took a bite of her sandwich and was content with the taste. Their homemade tuna salad was good to her. She was glad she ordered what she did. She looked and saw how AJ was digging into his food and chuckled. He must've been starving or he hadn't ate in awhile because that was how he was eating his food.

"Starving much?" Natalie questioned with a laugh.

AJ reciprocated the laugh. "I feel like it. This B.L.T is pretty dang tasty."

"That's good. This homemade tuna is pretty dang tasty."

"Are you mocking me?" AJ shot Natalie a glare.

Natalie innocently put her hands up. "Maybe so. But if I was, that's only because it's payback from you mocking me earlier."

"I'll remember that." He took a sip of his water. He remembered that Natalie was going to say something before their food got delivered to their table. "Natalie, what were you going to say before our food arrived?"

Natalie took another bite of her sandwich and a sip of her water. "I was going to say that I wanted to get into even better shape. I see women like Nikki Bella, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Sasha Banks, Bayley, Natalya, Alexa Bliss, Naomi and even Carmella and I'm envious at how toned they all are. Charlotte has the most perfect figure. All of those women get acknowledged for their figures and how beautiful they are and I always feel like I'm getting overlooked so I'm doing what I have to do so make sure I get recognition. "

For some reason, Natalie seemed to compare herself to the other women in the women's division and AJ wasn't sure why. She had traits all her own that made her just as beautiful as the rest of the women. She had the warmest blue green eyes and a smile that made her face light up. And while she wasn't as tall as the other women(she was 5'4) she was a good build for her height. He knew how beautiful she was and he wished that she saw it too.

"You know that there are plenty of people out there who think you're beautiful right?"

Natalie scoffed, a disappointed look on her face. She was sure AJ was saying that to spare her feelings. "Yeah, right. Name one."

"Me!" AJ exclaimed. And just like that, Natalie's face went from a disappointed look to shocked look, her mouth slightly hanging open. A huge blush sustained her cheeks.

* * *

AJ and Natalie arrived to the arena, their luggage in tow. They both walked to the match card to see what was going to be going on with them on Smackdown for the night. AJ was going to be facing Sunil Singh. AJ was currently back in the WWE championship hunt on Smackdown and onscreen he was feuding with Jinder Mahal and Singh Brothers until he was able to fight for the WWE championship once again. Natalie was involved in a fatal five way match with Carmella, Naomi, Becky, and Charlotte to see who would be the captain of team Smackdown for the women's division. But, first she would be backstage with the latter five along with Tamina and Lana.

"Looks like you'll have more screentime than me tonight," The Phenomenal one joked. "And I'm supposed to be the face that runs the place."

Natalie feigned a look of guilt, but in reality she was excited; this was the first time since her return where she would get to wrestle on Smackdown. "Sorry, not sorry."

"I can tell you're genuinely sorry."

Natalie defensively put her hands up. "I'm just excited about wrestling on Smackdown again is all. And, I'll get to be backstage with all the women. I'm pretty stoked."

"I'm happy for you. I'm sure and all the others will steal the show in your fatal five way. Remember, I'm team Michaels."

Natalie smiled and blushed. "Thanks. And, I'm team Styles. Can't wait until you get your shot at the WWE champion again."

"It may come sooner than you think." AJ knew that he would be fighting for the WWE championship in a few weeks whenever they were going to be in England, but no one really knew about it except for himself and Jinder. Maybe he could let Natalie in on in the secret; she was a trustworthy person.

Natalie's eyebrows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

AJ leaned his face into Natalie's ear and Natalie felt shivers go down her spine and their closeness. "This is a secret between you and I, but I am supposed to be fighting for the WWE championship soon."

"Really?" Natalie's face lit up with one of her smiles that AJ _loved_ so much. "That's awesome. Who's going to win?"

The Phenomenal one shrugged his shoulders. "Not sure yet. I guess you'll have to wait and find out."

"Fair enough."

"Well, I'll see you later. I need to go ahead and start getting ready for the show."

"See you later."

AJ winked at her before walking away, his luggage in tow behind him. Natalie swooned as she walked him walk away. If it was even possible, she felt her feelings for him deepen even more.

* * *

Backstage in the GM's office, Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Lana, Tamina, Natalie, and Carmella were all waiting for the arrival of Smackdown General Manager, Daniel Bryan. The crowd gave their response to each woman that appeared on the screen. Becky, Charlotte, Naomi, and Natalie were all cheered. Lana and Carmella got a mixed response from the crowd. And Tamina, got little to no reaction. They we're having a meeting about the Survivor Series pay-per-view that was coming up soon.

Daniel Bryan came into view and as usual, he got an ovation from the crowd. He looked at each of the ladies, but gave Carmella a strange look due to the dog leash she was carrying around that was used for her associate, James Ellsworth. Daniel shook his head. "Ladies, I know why you're all here. Survivor Series is just for weeks away. And don't worry all of you will be on the Survivor Series team." All the women applauded with happiness.

"But, there's seven of us," Lana spoke up. How was there going to be a five on five match if there are seven women who make up the Smackdown Live roster?

"Oh right, not you Lana," The General Manager spoke up. All the women had amused looks on their faces at Lana getting buried by their General Manager. "However; since there are six of you that are capable of competing, we are going to have a six way tonight and the woman that gets pinned will be not be on the Smackdown Live women's team. "

Tamina gave Daniel a glare. "You know what, Daniel, you don't even have to worry about that match. Since my associate can't compete, then I'm out too."

"That's just fine, Tamina because I have five other women here that are more than capable of representing team Smackdown," Daniel pointed to Charlotte, Becky, Naomi, Natalie, and Carmella who were going to be the team players for Smackdown live. Honestly, Daniel was surprised Carmella hadn't said anything about trying to get out of the match. "Last year, the RAW women's team came out on top, but that is not going to happen this year."

Charlotte, Becky, Naomi, Natalie, and Carmella all looked to each other and were hollering "no," "that's is not going to happen," and "we got this." Lana and Tamina weren't looking to enthused about the situation.

The General Manager looked around the room at the women again noticing how intensity lingered in the air between the women, mainly Natalie and Carmella who've been rivals for the longest time. "Now, now, I realize that some of you don't like each other, but at Survivor Series, we are going to have a unified front and and a strong leader."

Charlotte Flair stepped up, hoping to be the leader. "Alright, Alright, I'll do it. I'll be captain." She faced in the direction of the General Manager, unaware of all the daggers that were being thrown her way. She turned her attention back to her fellow women's roster who were all protesting the idea.

"Now, will all due respect, Charlotte, you weren't even there whenever Smackdown invaded RAW. So, so..." The Irish Lasskicker stated. If there was going to be a captain appointed, then she would want someone who would fight for team blue at all times.

Carmella threw in a comment, "You two don't get to decide."

As much as Natalie disliked the fact; she agreed with her foe. "As much as it pains me to say, I agree with Carmella. Yo two aren't the General Manager, so you shouldn't have any say in the team captain should be."

"Actually Natalie and Carmella have a point, you two don't get to decide because tonight, Charlotte, Naomi, Becky, Natalie, and Carmella will be a fatal five way match and the winner will be the Survior Series Smackdown women's team captain."

All the ladies that were going to be participating in the fatal five way match were excited about the announcement. Lana and Tamina weren't amused at all. They couldn't care less about who was the team captain.

* * *

Carmella, Becky, Naomi, and Charlotte all made their respective entrances. The crowd was waiting on the arrival of Natalie and when an edited version of"I Am The Fire" blared through the speakers, the crowd cheered. Natalie came onto the entrance ramp holding her hands on her hips, smiling into the crowd. She was wearing a sparkly lace up purple crop top, sparkly purple shorts, and sparkly purple kickpads that she had over her boots. Her blonde hair was long and straight, framing her face. "And from San Antonio, Texas, Natalie Michaels." She excitedly walked down the ramp, clapping the hands of the fans along the way. She slid into the ring and went to the far right corner, climbing on the turnbuckle and soaking in the crowd's adulation. She got off the turnbuckle and went to stand next to Charlotte.

The Smackdown women's champion, Natalya, came down the aisle, wanting to check out her fellow competitors in action. She got into the ring and showed off her championship; much to the disdain of the women in the ring. When she wasn't announced like she wanted, she demanded the announcer to announce her. The announcer stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen, here is the Smackdown women's champion...NATALYA!" Natalya once again showed off her championship and went to sit at the commentary table.

The bell rang and the action was underway. Carmella and Charlotte started brawling while Becky, Naomi, and Natalie had their little triple threat going on. Becky and Naomi's brawl landed on the outside of the ring. Carmella tossed Charlotte to Natalie hit nailed Charlotte in the face with a spinning roundhouse kick, making the Queen roll out of the ring.

Carmella walked around the ring praising her work. "That's what I'm talking about! Yeah! That's what I'm talking about, baby!" She walked towards Natalie and the two had a brief staredown before Carmella extended out her hand, offering a truce. Natalie shook Carmella's hand but scooted Carmella towards her and nailed her with a snap suplex in the middle of the ring. Carmella rolled out of the ring and that left Natalie alone in the ring.

The crowd started chanting, "Nata-lie, Nata-lie, Nata-lie." Natalie stood there and raised her hands up, making the crowd cheer and applaud her. She then got out of the ring, trying to pull Naomi into the ring, but she ended up being nailed in the back of the head by Carmella. Natalie turned around and nailed Carmella with an elbow of her own and the two women started brawling until Natalie tossed Carmella into the barricade.

Charlotte came and kicked Natalie and gave Natalie a few of her signature Flair chops. She got Natalie in position to suplex her on the floor; however, Natalie countered and ended up suplexing Charlotte onto the floor. Seeing Carmella get up, Natalie ran around and nailed Carmella with a clothesline.

Natalie turned around and was met with a diving elbow by Becky Lynch. The crowd starting chanting, "Bec-ky, Bec-ky, Bec-ky" and The Lasskicker taunted the crowd real quick before getting back to business. Becky didn't have long because Naomi hit a diving crossbody onto Becky. Naomi sees Charlotte start to stir around and tries to nail Charlotte with a running hurricanrana, but Charlotte catches her on her shoulders and brings Naomi down a little bit and flings her into the barricade. Out of nowhere, Natalie nails Charlotte with a running dropkick and Charlotte lands over the barricade and into the crowd.

Becky and Natalie start brawling after the former hits the latter with an forearm to the back of the head. Natalie manages to roll Becky into the ring, but Natalie doesn't have any luck getting into the ring after she gets knocked off the apron thanks to Naomi and her rearview mirror. Becky comes from behind and rolls up Naomi, but only gets a two count since Naomi reversed the rollup with one of her own. Carmella comes into the ring and stops the count by grabbing Naomi and tossing Naomi into the turnbuckle post, shoulder first.

Carmella hits a superkick on a groggy Becky but only gets a two count. Whenever Carmella tries another move, Becky locks Carmella into the dis-arm-her and Carmella instantly taps out. The Irish Lasskicker is now the team captain for the Smackdown women's team at Survivor Series.

* * *

Natalie and Carmella walked towards the catering area to grab a bottle of water to help them get hydrated after their match. They sat down at one of the nearest tables, cooling down. The two were greeted by another person who decided to join them; The Phenomenal one. He sat on the other side of Natalie. Like Natalie and Carmella he had a bottle of water too. He was dressed in his street clothes for the night which consisted of a gray t-shirt, jeans, boots, and hat on his head.

"Great match. You ladies made the most of the six minutes you had to wrestle." He looked to Natalie, a smile gracing his face. "Great showing. You haven't missed a beat."

Natalie blushed. "Thanks, that means a lot."

"You're welcome. I mean it though. I saw some of the technical stuff that we learned back at the performance center. Those suplexes you hit on Carmella and Charlotte were perfection."

"That was a perfectly executed snap suplex you nailed on me," Carmella nodded her head, agreeing with AJ. "You were definitely the star of the fatal five way."

"Guys..." Natalie blushed causing AJ and Carmella to laugh at her and her adorableness. "...you're embarrassing me." She covered her face with her hands.

"So, some of us are going out after the show and I was seeing if you ladies wanted to go?" The invitation was sent to both Natalie and Carmella, but AJ had his focus on Natalie as the questioned was asked. Carmella took notice of this and smiled to herself.

Natalie removed her hands from her face and looked in the direction of her best friend. "Mella, you feel like going out?"

Carmella scoffed. "Honey, you know me; I never turn down an invitation to go out."

Natalie rolled her eyes and defensively put her hands up. "My bad, babe." She looked back to AJ. "So, I guess that means we will go out then."

"Great," The Phenomenal one replied with a smile. "Do you two just want to ride with me after the show?"

Natalie and Carmella nodded their heads and said "sure" at the same exact time. AJ laughed at the best friends and how in-sync they were with one another. That's what happens when you hang out with your best friend often; you start picking up their mannerisms.

"I'll just meet you two at the parking lot garage around 10:45 then." He gave Natalie a quick wink before leaving the table. Carmella took notice of this and smiled. It was so obvious that AJ and Natalie were so into each other.

"We'll c'mon, sweetie." Carmella grabbed Natalie's hand and led her to the women's locker room. "You know I have to look good whenever we go out and it's almost 10:00 now. That's only forty minutes for be to get ready." Natalie rolled her eyes at her best friend's dramatic attitude. But, she loved Carmella and wouldn't trade her for the world.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** _**Hope you all enjoy this new chapter. Thanks for taking the time to read.**


	8. A Struggle Love Is All We Got

**_A/N:_ Here's another update. Thanks for all the love for this story.**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I don't own anything associate with WWE. Just the OC, Natalie.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Eight: A Struggle Love Is All We Got

* * *

NXT Takeover:War Games was taking place and Natalie was backstage with Carmella before the show went on air. Her, Carmella, Finn Balor, Asuka, and Shinsuke Nakamura were going to be in attendance for the Pay-Per-View. Natalie was stoked about attending the show in the front row along with her bestie. It wasn't that long ago that Carmella confessed to Natalie that her and Cass broke up. So, within the last three weeks, Natalie and Carmella were busy moving Carmella's belongings into Natalie's condo in Orlando. Natalie was ecstatic about living with her best friend.

She was also ecstatic about this Takeover show. There was going to be history made and she was ecstatic about all of the superstars involved in the Pay-Per-View. The card was stacked and this had the appeal to be the greatest Takeover of all time. She was honored she would be sitting and watching the show up, close, and personal.

Having to look professional; Natalie was wearing a plan black tee that was tucked into a mid length black leather skirt with black pumps. Her blonde hair was down in loose waves with a smokey eye and red lipstick that helped complete the look. Her best friend was dressed in an off the shoulder black leather dress with platform wedges and her blonde hair was down in bouncy curls with a smokey eye and nude lip. Natalie always thought that Carmella had such good taste in fashion and she could be a model if she wasn't wrestling.

Natalie saw her dad talking with Hunter and her along with Carmella headed in their direction. Shawn saw out of the corner of his eye his daughter and her friend walking towards him and Hunter and they smiled and waved to them. "Hey, dear," The Heartbreak kid stated, giving his daughter a hug and a kiss on her cheek. "Hey, Mella." Shawn gave Carmella a hug too.

"Hey, dad. Hey, Hunter." She gave a Hunter a hug. Carmella merely waved to Hunter, but Hunter enveloped his large arms around Carmella and gave her a hug too. "I can't wait for the show. I'm excited about the card from top to bottom." She looped her arm through Carmella's. "I also get to be in the audience with my bestie."

The King of Kings chuckled. "Make sure you two ladies don't cause any trouble now. I know you two can be whenever you are together."

"Us?" Natalie and Carmella feigned a look of innocence. "We are little angels, we would never cause any trouble. Would we, Mella?"

"Nope, not at all," Miss Money In The Bank agreed.

Shawn and Hunter immediately burst out into laughter. "You two angels?" The Hall of Famer joked. "I don't know what world you're living in, but if I can remember correctly, you and Mella are the biggest troublemakers out there."

The two best friends feigned a shocked look. "Mella and I troublemakers? Yeah, right dad. You must have us confused for some other people. Maybe Becky and Charlotte? Or Alexa and Nia?"

"Alexa and Nia are named team rude after all," Carmella stated. "It would make sense that they're the troublemakers."

"Anyways; Natalie, what match are you looking forward to the most?" The Game knew that Natalie had been excited about the show and he knew how much Natalie liked watching the other superstars perform and that was why she'd been on the list of NXT alumni to be at the show tonight.

"All of them." Her immediate answer was enough to cause some laughter. "I'm glad you all think that this is funny, but I'm serious. This card is stacked and I'm excited to see what all the superstars have to offer. Although, I do think Aleister and Dream have the best feud going on."

"Because you've only mentioned to me one million times how awesome you thought their feud was."

Natalie rolled her eyes at Carmella. "I'm sorry. You know how I can be whenever I get invested into a feud." She looked back to Shawn and Hunter. "She just doesn't understand." Carmella shook her head and rolled her eyes. Shawn and Hunter just watched them in amusement.

"Oh, dad, there was something I wanted to run by you too."

The Hall of Famer's eyebrows furrowed and his eyes perked up. "Everything okay, nugget?" Nugget was a nickname Shawn had for his daughter because when she was growing up, Natalie had an undying love for chicken nuggets.

"I just wanted to know, how would you feel about the idea of me and AJ possibly dating?"

Shawn frowned. "Nugget, even though AJ is a great guy, you know how I feel about dating a wrestler. You dated one before and that didn't turn out so well. I think it's just better if you date someone outside of the industry."

"You know, Shawn," The COO of WWE intervened, "I think Natalie could benefit from dating AJ. He's a good guy and has the model behavior of what a superstar should act like. Plus, you've seen Natalie around AJ, he seems to treat her well."

"I just think my daughter should be involved with anyone in the industry. Plus..." he gestured to Carmella. "...no offense, Mella; but her and Cass just broke up. That's another reason why you shouldn't date anyone in the industry. It could be awkward and I don't want you to have to deal with that."

"But, you see how good Hunter and Stephanie are doing. What about Daniel and Brie? Lana and Rusev? Dean and Renee? Even, Taker and Michelle were together while she was still apart of the roster and they are married and have a kid. There's a chance AJ and I could be one of those couples who make it in the long run."

"Why are we even having this conversation right now? Are you and AJ dating?" He was starting to get angry at the thought of his daughter dating a superstar after he said he didn't want her to.

Natalie sighed. "No. It's just that I like him a lot and I wanted to know if you approved of him. Nothing will happen though because he doesn't like me like that anyways." Carmella soothingly put a hand on Natalie's shoulder.

"Well, this conversation is over with." He put his hand on Natalie's other shoulder. "I'm sorry, nugget. I didn't mean to make you upset. It's just that I don't want to see you get hurt."

"It's okay, dad, I understand." Shawn held out her arms for her and she accepted his embrace. After a minute, they let go of the embrace. "We are still going out after the show, right?"

"Yep, you, Carmella, Hunter, Stephanie, and I are all going out."

"Awesome, can't wait. See you after the show."

"Natalie, Carmella, I hope you enjoy the show," Hunter stated.

Both of the ladies nodded their head and smiled before walking out in the audience. They were the first two of the NXT alumni to be seated. "At least you told your dad about your crush on AJ," Carmella said. "Sorry he doesn't approve."

"That's alright. It's not like AJ and I will ever happen anyways. So, this is all water under the bridge." She rested her head on Carmella's shoulder. "Tonight is going to be a good night. I get to watch Takeover with my best friend and I get to sit beside Finn Balor too. That's a win win for me."

Carmella chuckled. "Yeah, and then we get to go eat after the show and we don't even have to pay. It's always a good night whenever you get free food."

Natalie raised her head up and chuckled. "That is pretty sweet, huh?"

* * *

Survivor Series was underway and Natalie was beyond honored to be at this Pay-Per-View. This was her first Survivor Series ever and she was blessed to be apart of the show. Her inner kid was coming out as she was walking in the arena alongside Carmella. The best friends came into the arena wearing matching outfits. Both were big fans of the show F.R.I.E.N.D.S, so they decided to wear some attire that was apart of the iconic show. Both had on white crop tops with black long sleeves and B.E.S.T FRIEND was written on the across the center; the only difference was Carmella's shirt had 'I'll be there for you' written on hers and Natalie's had 'She'll be there for me' on hers under the B.E.S.T FRIEND part. And both were wearing black hoodies. Carmella's had the F.R.I.E.N.D's logo on hers while Natalie had the legendary saying, "How you doin?' on hers. The two best friends were wearing blue skinny jeans with holes in them and Carmella was wearing black Nike hightops while Natalie was wearing black slide on vans.

They entered the women's locker room and all the women were talking about how cute Natalie and Carmella looked matching in their outfits. Bayley approached them and asked Natalie if she could borrow Carmella for a Bay-Mella reunion and Natalie merely nodded her head with a smile. She wasn't the owner of Carmella, she could do whatever she wanted. She was actually getting pretty hungry, so she walked out of the locker room and heading towards catering to get some grub in her belly.

She looked around the area to find something appealing to eat and jumped about fifty feet in the air as someone yelled "Boo" behind her. She clutched her chest and turned around to see the new WWE Champion, AJ Styles right there, laughing at her. He was dressed in a plain black t-shirt with his usual jeans and boots, no ballcap was on his head, surprisingly. He was usually wearing one. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help myself. You were just so invested in what you wanted to get to eat. The opportunity presented itself."

"You jerk, you could've given me a heart attack. I hope your happy with yourself." She looked back at the selection of food and just decided to grab a chef salad with honey mustard dressing. She noticed AJ making his own sandwich and he added lots of bacon. "Must be nice to add all that bacon without worrying about gaining pounds. I smell the bacon and I feel like just gained like fifteen pounds." She went to sit at the nearby table, The Phenomenal one following suit.

AJ dug into his BLT with no problem and Natalie just looked at him with amusement. "What?" He furrowed his eyebrows, his mouth full of food.

"You act like this is the first time you've ever ate," Natalie chuckled. "Your food is not going anywhere, you know that, right?"

The WWE champion rolled his eyes. "I think a snail eats faster than you."

Natalie stuck her tongue out at him. "I'm sorry I like to actually enjoy my food."

"Anyways; how does it feel for Natalie Michaels to be apart of her first Survivor Series?"

Natalie took a bite of her salad. "I am totally stoked. Younger Natalie probably would never believe she is actually here. I am totally ready for my match. I'm also looking forward to your match with Brock too." She remembered being backstage whenever they were out on tour and she was jumping up and down whenever AJ won the WWE title from Jinder. AJ did tell her that he would be winning the WWE title, she just didn't realize it would be this soon. Nothing against Jinder, but AJ vs Brock had more appeal to it.

"Are you doing anything after show?" The Phenomenal one wondered. Him and Natalie had been hanging out a lot for the past few weeks and he felt like things were blossoming between them. The only talked all the time, hung out a lot, and even been more flirty than usual.

"No, just going back to the motel with Mella. Why?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to go out on a date with me after the show?"

Natalie's eyes widened and her heart was beating out of her chest. She couldn't believe it, AJ really liked her. She had to frown because she remembered the previous conversation with her dad the night before at Takeover: War Games. "I'm sorry, AJ, I can't."

A hurt look came upon the face of the Phenomenal one and Natalie felt guilty. "You don't like me do you? I knew I was reading too much into these signs the past couple of weeks."

Natalie frowned. The guy of her dreams was asking her out and she couldn't even tell him yes. "It's not that AJ, please believe me. It's...complicated."

"It's okay, I get it, you don't like me. Just forget I asked that question." He got up from the table and threw his plate away. Natalie watched him walk away and all she could do was sigh. _If he only knew how much I want to date him._

* * *

The WWE champion was watching the women's elimination tag team match in his locker room. He couldn't help but be amazed with Natalie whenever she came out. Sure, Becky Lynch, Naomi, Bayley, Sasha Banks, Nia Jax, and Asuka all got great reactions from the WWE Universe, but whenever Natalie's theme had hit(she was the last member from Team Smackdown to make her entrance) the crowd went nuts. It amazed him the reaction Natalie could get from the audience. That was what made her special.

He was still bothered over what Natalie told him earlier about she couldn't go on a date with him. Maybe he'd been reading the signs between them wrong the whole time. He could've sworn that there was something brewing between them. He would have to talk to Carmella and see what the deal with Natalie was. He would ask her whenever the match was over. He did have sometime before his own match started.

Asuka and Natalie were the last two remaining for their respective teams. Asuka had just eliminated Natalya with her Asuka lock, so now it was just down to Natalie and Asuka and the WWE Universe was coming to their feet. The two women were staring at one another and it was clear that an amazing moment was happening. The two merely smirked to each other before Asuka tried nailing Natalie with her lethal elbow combination. Asuka had no luck as Natalie attempted to counter with a clothesline, but Asuka blocked that. The women were trying to nail one another but neither were having any luck. They stared at each other and the WWE Universe applauded the two women.

Asuka ran towards Natalie trying to get the blonde with her signature thump, but Natalie ducked and whenever Asuka turned around, she got nailed right in the face courtesy of 'Sweet Chin Music,' much to the delight of the crowd. Natalie tried going for the pin, but was unsuccessful as Asuka managed to lock into the Asuka Lock. Natalie didn't tap out, she faded away, so Asuka won the match as a result of Natalie fading away being locked in that hold.

That was a way for Asuka and Natalie to look strong but yet have Asuka keep her streak going. Natalie put on a great showing and there was no denying she was born to do this.

The match was over, so AJ headed towards the women's locker room to look for the woman he wanted to see, Carmella. He knocked on the women's locker room door and as if fate would have it, Carmella was the one to answer the door. An amused look came upon the woman's face. "AJ, hey, Natalie isn't back yet. She should be on the way though. She had a great showing tonight, huh?"

"Yeah, she did." He rubbed the back of his neck. "I actually didn't come to talk to Natalie, I came to talk to you."

Carmella's eyebrows furrowed. "Okay." She stepped out of the locker room. The two walked over to catering and took a seat at one of the farther tables. "Is everything okay?"

"Ehh. I asked Natalie on a date earlier." AJ saw the elated look come upon the face of Natalie's best friend, which made him frown. "But, she said she couldn't because it was complicated. I thought that she liked me. Or at least that's the message I was getting."

"She does like you!" Carmella exclaimed. "You didn't hear this from me, but since I think you would be good for Natalie I am going to tell you. Shawn doesn't want Natalie dating any superstars. That was why she said no to you earlier."

"She's a grown woman, she should be able to do what she wants."

Carmella nodded. "I agree, but you know how Natalie is. She wants to make everyone happy. Maybe Shawn will accept the fact that you and her would be so adorable together."

"Thanks," AJ chuckled. "I am going to need your help though."

"You got it. What are you going to need help with?"

"I am going to talk to Shawn about Natalie and get his blessing. I may need your help with that though. Shawn knows you have Natalie's best interests at heart as her best friend and if you tell Shawn that you think I would be good for Natalie then maybe Shawn will change his mind."

"Hunter actually tried intervening last night and tell Shawn the same thing, but Shawn said he doesn't want Natalie to date anyone in the industry," she responded. "But, I will help you out. Cause I love Natalie and I think you would make her happy."

"Great! Thanks, Carmella." AJ gave Carmella a hug for his gratitude.

Little did they know, an upset Natalie was looking at their exchange with tears in her eyes.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_** **Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**


	9. The Passion Inside Me Is Burning

**_A/N:_ I just want to say, thank you so much for all the love on this story. This is my most favorited and followed story and I am so grateful. Hope you enjoy this new chapter.**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I don't own anything associate with WWE. Just the OC, Natalie.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Nine: The Passion Inside Me Is Burning

* * *

Natalie and Carmella were in their Florida condo decorating it for Christmas. It was the first day of December and whenever December came, Natalie loved deocrating her house for Christmas. Plus, they would be flying to San Diego on the third to tape the Tribute To The Troops show on December fifth that would air on December fourteenth. The last couple of weeks she'd been kind of keeping her distance from AJ after the scene she witnessed between him and Carmella. She had to put on an act around Carmella considering Carmella lived with her. But, she was pretty sure Carmella was picking up on her strange behavior.

She wanted to address what she saw at Survivor Series but she didn't have the courage to ask. Maybe now would be the right time to ask. She wanted to clear the air with the holidays coming up.

"Mella, can I ask you something?"

Miss Money In The Bank put the silver ball ornament she had in her hand and hung it on the Christmas tree. Then she looked to Natalie with curiosity. "Ofl course you can. What's up?"

"I've been holding something back from you," Natalie sighed. "At Survivor Series, I saw you and AJ hugging each other and I just wanted to know what was up with that? I haven't seen you and AJ ever really touch each other and now; all of a sudden, you two are embracing. And, well, I may have been jealous over that." That was true. AJ hadn't really given Natalie hugs even though they were flirty with each other, so seeing AJ hug someone else even though it was her best friend made her feel jealous.

Carmella furrowed her eyebrows. That would explain why Natalie had been acting strange the last couple of weeks. "Natalie, that hug meant nothing! AJ needed some help with something and I was willing to help. He thanked me and gave me a hug. That was it. I would never do that to do. I love you so much!" She wrapped her arms around Natalie. "I'm sorry that you caught us in that predicament. Is that why you've been avoiding AJ?"

"Well, yeah."

"You may want to clear the air with him. That man has been harassing me about you. He's been asking about you and if you were okay. I told him that you had a lot going on right now." Carmella playfully shoved Natalie.

Natalie gave Carmella a small smile. Technically, she did have a lot going on right now. It was just something she didn't like to talk about. However; Hunter had asked her if she would cut a promo at the Tribute To The Troops event. She obliged and she would be letting the world know about her issues. Which, telling her story in front of a Naval Base would be the best way to go.

"Okay, whenever we get done decorating the tree, I'll give AJ a call and clear the air with him." She grabbed a blue sparkly ornament that had her name on it and hung it on the tree. "I'm sorry about holding that back. I should've said something sooner."

"It's okay, Natalie, it really is." Carmella grabbed a cheetah printed ornament that had her name on it and hung it on their already beautifully decorated Christmas tree.

Natalie and Carmella looked at their Christmas tree in awe. Normally, Natalie decorated her own Christmas tree since she'd never had a roommate; however, this year meant a lot to her since she decorated the Christmas tree with her best friend. They had a seven foot tall Christmas tree set up in the corner of the living room. There was silver garland wrapped around the tree with ornaments that Natalie and Carmella randomly picked out during their travel. Carmella turned out the lights while Natalie turned on the Christmas tree and the two went back to looking at their Christmas tree with awe. The colored lights wrapped around the white Christmas tree added more beauty.

"Don't we know how to decorate a Christmas tree or what?" Natalie smiled to her best friend.

Carmella nodded and smiled. "We sure do. Now, grab your phone and give a certain Phenomenal man a phone call."

Natalie gave a salute and grabbed her iPhone walking upstairs to her bedroom to call the aforementioned Phenomenal One.

* * *

Natalie plopped down on her queen sized bed and wrapped her floral blue comforter around her. She dialed the number of the Phenomenal One and waited for him to answer. She smiled as she heard the answer after three rings.

"Hello there, Natalie. Long time, no talk. Everything alright?"

Natalie sighed. "I just wanted to apologize to you."

"For what?"

"I saw you and Carmella hug at Survivor Series and it made me upset. I talked to her about it and she said that she was helping you out with something and that you were thanking her for it."

"Is that why you've been distant from me lately?"

"Yes," Natalie sighed. "That isn't the only thing I wanted to apologize for though."

"What else could you have possibly done?"

"For turning down a date with you. I just want you to know that I really want to go out with you. But, I really don't feel like pissing my dad off," she let out a dry laugh. "I want you to know my true feelings."

If Natalie only knew about AJ's ulterior motives. "It's okay, Natalie. I'm a grown man, I'll be alright. However; I'm flattered to know that a beautiful woman like you has feelings for little 'ol me."

Natalie blushed. "Is there anyway we can hang out again soon? I've missed your face." She couldn't believe how blunt she was being with AJ.

"I think I can clear my schedule for you, Natalie," The WWE champion laughed. "Honestly, how could you not miss this handsome face?"

Natalie rolled her eyes and chuckled. "I've lived without it for a couple of weeks. I can deal with it." That was a lie. Honestly, distancing herself from AJ was one of the hardest things she'd done.

"Way to mess with a man's ego, Natalie," The Phenomenal one feigned hurt. "Anyways, what're you up to?"

"Carmella and I just got done decorating our Christmas tree. I think we did a phenomenal and fabulous job."

"I remember you saying awhile back that you like to start decorating for the holidays on the first of December. You should send me a picture."

You got it," Natalie smiled. It warmed her heart to know that AJ remembered the little details about her. "What are you doing?"

"I was tidying up my house before we left for San Diego on the third," The WWE champion replied. "But, talking to you is much better."

"Thanks," The blonde blushed. "I'm actually looking forward to Tribute To The Troops this year. Last year, I didn't really do anything spontaneous." She did have a tag team match with Nikki Bella against Carmella and Natalya. But that match was only four minutes and it ended with Nikki getting the pinfall over Carmella, much to Natalie's annoyance. She wasn't going to complain though, she was just happy to be there competing in front of the Troops. "I don't mean to sound ungrateful though. I was honored to be apart of last year's show, but this year will be better."

"I understand. I'm glad I'll be able to compete instead of being in a backstage segment. But, it's just an honor to be there."

"Absolutely." Natalie heard Carmella shouting her name downstairs and Natalie rolled her eyes. "I need to go, the Princess is calling for me."

"Alright, well I'm glad that you called. See you in San Diego."

"See you in San Diego." Natalie hung up the phone. While Natalie adored her best friend, she absolutely loathed her in this moment. She grunted and trotted down the stairs to see what Carmella needed.

* * *

Tribute To The Troops taping started off with Lilian Garcia singing the National Anthem. Natalie was standing in between Mickie James and The WWE champion, her hand over her heart as she heard the beautiful rendition of the National Anthem being sung. She decided to go all out for the event tonight considering how dear to her hear the event was going to be to her when it was all said and done. She was dressed in a camouflage cami-like crop top, camouflage shorts that she wore over olive green tights and brown combat boots. Her hair was straight with both sides pinned up.

She was going to be apart of a fatal-four-way match that involved Ruby Riott; who was currently tearing it up on Smackdown along with Sarah Logan and Liv Morgan and they dubbed themselves The Riott Squad, Carmella who would be accompanied by Lana and Tamina, Charlotte who would be accompanied by Naomi, and of course Natalie, who would be accompanied by Becky Lynch. Their match would be second on the card after The Shield vs The Bar and Samoa Joe six man tag match.

AJ would be competing in the main event alongside Shinsuke Nakamura and Randy Orton in a six man tag match against Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, and Jinder Mahal. Natalie couldn't think of a better way to end the show.

She would be giving a promo after her match and she was nervous yet excited about it. She would sharing something personal with everyone but she couldn't think of a better audience than the Marines. This night was going to mean so much to her.

Vince McMahon reached out to her whenever the National Anthem was done and embraced her much to her shock. "I just want to go ahead and say thank you sharing your story tonight. I know it won't be easy."

The WWE champion was standing by her still, engrossed in her conversation.

"Thank you so much," Natalie sniffled. "I can't think of a better audience to tell than all men and women who are serving our country."

AJ soothingly rubbed her back, comforting her. He wasn't sure what the promo was going to be about, but he was surely going to be listening intently. Cause whatever it was, surely meant a lot to Natalie.

* * *

Natalie and Carmella were the only two left in the ring. Charlotte had just nailed Ruby Riott in the face with a big boot and as soon as Charlotte turned around, she was met with Sweet Chin Music courtesy of Natalie, much to the delight of the crowd. Charlotte and Natalie were the clear favorites in the match, but no one could resist whenever the Sweet Chin Music was hit. The Smackdown women's champion rolled out of the ring. Carmella tried knocking Natalie down with a superkick of her own, but Natalie caught Carmella's leg and then nailed her with an enziguri.

Natalie drug Carmella to the center of the ring and locked in a submission similar to Edge's edgecator. Carmella screamed out in pain and tapped out. Becky Lynch who was wearing a camouflage jacket with her ignite the fire shirt underneath, black skinny jeans, and black combat boots cheered on as the woman she accompanied to ringside got the victory. Natalie smiled proudly as her hand was raised in victory.

Natalie walked over to grab a microphone. She looked out into the audience and was mesmerized by the love and support she was getting from her heroes. The Troops loved her she recognized by how they were chanting her name, but only if they knew how much they meant to her. This was one of her favorite events of the year and she was grateful she was able to compete for a second year.

The ring cleared with all the women and Natalie was the only one left. She pressed the microphone up to her lips. "You guys have been so amazing! It's such an honor to be here competing for all of you. People say that we're larger than life being WWE Superstars; we're not even close. You men and women are larger than life. You work your asses off day and night to protect us and I am so grateful for you all."

The Troops cheered and started chanting her name. Tears pricked at her eyes. "You all know that I am Shawn Michaels' daughter and I am okay with that because he is the greatest of all time; I'm not biased or anything." She laughed as they started chanting 'HBK.' "But, my mom was actually stationed here at San Diego Naval Base whenever she was in the Marines. She said that it was the best time of her life." The Troops applauded at Natalie's statement. "So, I am pretty lucky to have two awesome parents. My mom and dad had dated briefly after they met whenever a show came to San Diego. They broke up shortly after she had me because both of their schedules were grueling; however, they still remain cordial with one another. I can safely say that they are friends."

She took a deep breath, wiping away at the tears that were threatening to fall down her face. "My mom has been really sick lately, but she's the toughest woman I know, so I know with a doubt that is going fight this and come back healthier than ever." The Troops cheered and applauded as Natalie's name was chanted. "Anyways, enough about me. I just want you to know that San Diego is special to my heart and it has been a real treat performing for you all. I love you and I hope you have a safe and happy holiday."

'I Am The Fire' blared through the speakers and Natalie exited the ring, high-fiving and hugging Troops on her way to the back.

* * *

She was immediately enveloped in a hug by Carmella, Charlotte, Becky, Nattie, Naomi, Lana, Ruby, Liv, and Sarah. It meant so much to her that her fellow Smackdown women supported her. She started crying and she knew that she looked horrible, but she didn't care. It felt nice to get that off her chest. The only people in the WWE that knew about her mother being sick was Carmella, Hunter, Stephanie, Shane, and Vince. Of course her dad knew. Not even AJ knew but she had distanced herself from the him the last couple of weeks, so the opportunity didn't present itself.

"I love you ladies so much," Natalie exclaimed.

"I'm sorry to hear about your mom," Charlotte genuinely stated. If there was anybody who could relate to Natalie's situation; Charlotte Flair was the inevitable. Her father, Ric Flair, had just gotten out of the hospital a little over a month ago and he was recovering amazingly.

Natalie hugged Charlotte. "Thanks, Charlotte. I really appreciate it. She's actually doing a lot better now, but there is some progress to be made."

"What happened?" Nattie wondered. "But, I am glad to hear that she's doing okay."

"She had a stroke," Natalie answered. "But, she's recovering nicely. The left side of her face is droopy, but that's something we'll have to live with. I'm just glad she's alive."

"Much like Bret," Nattie replied. "After he had his stroke his left side of his face will droop at times. People think he always looks mad, but that's just how his expression is because of the stroke he had." Natalie gave Nattie a hug. "I'm glad you're mom is recuperating."

"Thanks, me too," Natalie said with a smile.

"If you need anything, Lass, just let us know," Becky Lynch offered. She smiled at Natalie and patted her shoulder with the rest of the women nodding their head in agreement.

"I'll keep that mind. Thank you."

The Smackdown live women's roster walked past her all touching her shoulder as they walked past her. Carmella stayed by her side though. "I'm real proud of you, Natalie. I know that to be a hard story to tell." She gave Natalie a hug.

"It was at first. But, now I feel like a huge weight has been lifted off my chest."

"C'mon let's go and watch the rest of the show. I know you can't miss a certain Phenomenal One performing in the main event," Carmella laughed. Natalie nodded her head and smiled. She linked her arm through Natalie's and they walked off to the locker room to watch the rest of the show.

* * *

For the next two days; the WWE superstars stayed in San Diego to hang out and visit with the Troops. This was something that brought genuine joy to Natalie. Her and Carmella were assigned together along with Seth Rollins, Dean Ambrose, and Roman Reigns to tour different parts of the base. Natalie wished that the WWE champion was apart of their group, but he got assigned with Charlotte Flair, Becky Lynch, Randy Orton, Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin. She also wasn't going to complain about walking around with the Shield.

Natalie noticed Seth and Carmella trading looks and smirks with one another and she couldn't help but smile. Whenever she was on instagram, she noticed that Seth would occasionally like Carmella's pictures, but she didn't mention the thought to Carmella. She knew with Carmella still fresh off a breakup, much like Seth was, and that they both needed time to heal. But, she couldn't help but notice that they would be adorable together.

Natalie was dressed in camouflage skinny jeans that were tucked into brown booties and a gray and white shirt. Carmella was dressed in a camouflage skirt with black ankle booties and a black crop top that was underneath a black leather jacket. They both wanted to dress that way to support the Troops.

The group was visiting a clinic where wounded Marines were. Natalie talked to the Troops like they were her best friends. This was something she enjoyed doing and she hoped that the Troops enjoyed her presence as much as she did theirs. She couldn't wait to tell her mom all about the experience whenever she visited her again.

A few hours later, Natalie, Carmella, Seth, Dean, and Roman all walked out of the clinic. Not paying attention to where she was going, she collided with a hard body. She looked up and saw electric blue eyes staring down at her. "Hey."

Natalie smiled as she looked up to see AJ's handsome face. "Hey, there."

"How's your touring going?"

"I am having such a good time," Natalie smiled. "This so incredible. I am awestruck being near all these Troops. How's your touring going?"

"I'm having a good time too," The Phenomenal One answered. "I just want to say that Seth, Dean, and Roman are lucky to have you in their group."

"Thanks," Natalie blushed. "And Charlotte and Becky are lucky to have you in theirs."

"I know," The older man chuckled. Natalie rolled her eyes. "So, you got anything going on whenever we got done with our touring for the day?"

"Not really," Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "Do you?"

"Yep, with you. You and I are going to get some food after this is over with."

"Alright," Natalie agreed. "Sounds good to me."

"Well, good," AJ smiled. He saw the members of his group waving for him to head with them to the next area. "I have to get back with my people. I'll see you later." Without warning, he kissed her cheek before walking in the direction with his group.

Natalie's face turned so red and she held her cheek where his lips were at. She looked around and saw the shocked yet amused looks of Carmella, Seth, Dean, and Roman.

"I see you and him are back on good terms now?" Carmella joked.

"It appears that way."

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks for reading.**


	10. Beauty In All She Is

**_A/N:_ Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love on this story. This chapter has been so fun to write. You'll find out why as you read along. Hope you all enjoy it. Thanks for reading.**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I do not own AJ Styles or any other WWE Superstar that might be mentioned throughout the story. I only own Natalie Michaels.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Ten: Beauty In All She Is

* * *

January 22,2018 finally arrived. It was RAW's twenty-fifth anniversary and Natalie was stoked to be apart of the show. While she was never apart of the RAW roster, she was going to be interviewed by Charly Caruso during the show. She was honored being on the same show as so many legends who paved the way for her to do what she loved. She was already friends with Brie and Nikki Bella, Maryse, and Kelly Kelly so it would be nice seeing them again. She'd even hung out with Trish Stratus and Torrie Wilson whenever her Dad was wrestling full time. Her and Michelle McCool were even tight considering Shawn and Taker were good friends. She was ecstatic to be under the same roof as those ladies again.

Charlotte Flair and Alexa Bliss were going to have their backstage segment. Ric Flair was going to by his daughter's side during the interview; even though Ric and Charlotte weren't going to be the only father and daughter duo onscreen together. Vince and Stephanie McMahon were going to be onscreen together of course. Not only did Natalie have her backstage interview; later on in the show, during the main event segment, she would be an 'honorary member' of D-Generation X.

This was her onscreen return to WWE television after suffering a 'concussion' at the hands of the Riott Squad over on Smackdown. She was going to be accompanying Naomi to the ring on the December 26th,2017 edition of Smackdown but The Riott Squad attacked her before Naomi's match against Ruby Riott. They tossed her into walls and Liv Morgan and Sarah Logan held Natalie down while Ruby slammed a locker room door in Natalie's face. In reality, she took time off to help her Mom get situated after her Mom got discharged from the hospital. Her Mom was doing fine again. Natalie's Mom insisted she wanted that she wanted to live closer to Natalie, so during her time off, she helped her Mom move into a condo that was merely three blocks from her's and Carmella's condo.

She was getting her hair and makeup done for the show by the WWE Glam Squad and she looked in the mirror for a minute and it caught her off guard as she saw AJ and Shawn talking in catering. They appeared to be having a serious conversation judging by the looks on their faces. She wondered what they could possibly be talking about. She knew that her Dad would be relocating to the Manhattan Center.

Speaking of AJ and her Father, she saw them interacting along with Carmella whenever he surprised her by being backstage at the Smackdown show she was written off of. He knew that she couldn't spend Christmas with him due to the Superstars traveling schedule, so Shawn decided to fly out to the show. She'd been wondering what the conversation was all about, but she didn't press the issue.

The blonde shrugged of the thoughts. She knew whatever they were talking about, it was nothing bad. She went back into her element and let the Glam Squad make her look glamorous for the show.

* * *

Charly Caruso stood by, waiting to interview her next guest. "Ladies and gentleman, please welcome my guest at this time, she is the daughter of the Heartbreak Kid, Shawn Michaels, Natalie Michaels."

The crowd cheered as Natalie came into view. Her blonde hair was down in loose waves. She'd gotten dyed lighter while she was on leave and it had grew a couple more inches landing at almost the end of her back. She was wearing a light blue long sleeved floral shirt that was tucked into black skinny jeans that were tucked into black knee high boots. Sparkly blue eyeshadow made her eyes pop even more and her lips were a rosy pink. "Hey, Charly," she smiled.

"Natalie, three weeks ago, you were taken out by the Riott Squad on Smackdown. Do you plan on getting retribution for what they did?"

"I do plan on extracting revenge on the Riott Squad," Natalie answered. "Tonight is not the night. That's business that I will be taking care of on Smackdown. Charly, this is Monday Night Raw. It's the twenty-fifth anniversary. I came to see my Dad and some of the legends that paved the way for me so I had an opportunity to do this."

"Which legends are you most excited about seeing?"

"My Dad, of course." Her response caused a laugh from the crowd. "Seriously though, it was great to see Stone Cold and on the same screen again. Talk about Nostalgia. I'm excited to see Kurt Angle in person again. He's doing an awesome job as RAW general manager thus far. It'll be great to see Trish Stratus once again. There's just too many to name."

"Seems like you're pretty starstruck."

"I am, Charly. You have no idea."

"Well, thanks for your time, Natalie. Have fun during the rest of the show." Charly smiled at the blonde.

"Thank you," Natalie stated with a smile. The crowd cheered for her as she walked away.

* * *

She bumped into a muscular figure who gripped his hands on her hips. She instinctively put her hands on their hands so help balance herself. Natalie looked up and saw a face she would never get tired of seeing; The WWE champion's.

"Welcome back, Michaels." The Phenomenal one greeted her with a smile. He hadn't seen her since Smackdown even though they had talked on the phone quite a bit and facetimed. She'd traveled the show with her Father, so this was literally the first time he's seen in her person since December.

"Thanks, champ," she giggled. "Did you miss me?"

"Of course I did. Facetiming isn't the same as seeing you in person."

"That's sweet," Natalie blushed.

AJ smiled. "Just being honest. So, how's everything with your Mom?" During their phone calls and facetiming while she was gone, Natalie had been keeping him updated on everything with her Mom. He was glad to know that her Mom was doing better and was making great progress.

"She's doing great. She loves her new Condo."

"I bet she does. It's a whole easier to see her now, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it is," Natalie smiled. "I've appreciated you being there for me during this time with her. You don't know how much it's meant to me."

"I'm here for you. I've told you that over and over again; I mean it."

"I know, I know. I just think you deserve to hear that you're appreciated."

"Natalie, you told me everytime we we're on the phone the last couple of weeks that you appreciated me being there for you," The WWE champion chuckled. "I've got the feeling that you appreciate me."

Natalie felt her cheeks go hot from embarrassment. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I said it that much."

AJ removed his hands from her hips to cup each side of her face. "It's fine." He pressed a chaste kiss to her forehead. "So, you have to go to to the Manhattan Center now?"

"Yeah. I'm going to be an honorary member of DX tonight," she said dryly.

"You sound so enthused."

"I'm excited to be in that segment; I just don't want to travel again," she pouted. "I'm lazy, aren't I?"

"Maybe just a little," AJ chuckled when Natalie swatted at him. "Anyways, I'll see you later. We're traveling together, right?"

Natalie smiled. "We sure are. You don't mind picking me up from the Manhattan Center do you?"

"Not at all." One of the producers came to get AJ for his interview segment with Charly and Mean Gene Okerlund. "I'll catch you later."

* * *

Triple H and Shawn Michaels were in the ring talking about the history of D-Generation X and how they made an impact in WWE. The Game was getting the crowd pumped up. "Are you ready?" the crowd cheered, but not as loud as he was wanting. "No, I said...are you ready?" He climbed onto the second rope and pointed the microphone towards the crowd.

"Because when I said we..." Triple H said, referring to him and Shawn. "...we didn't come alone." And then the entrance music of the New Age Outlaws, Road Dogg and Billy Gunn blared through the Manhattan Center and the crowed popped for the legendary tag team.

"Cut the damn music!" Road Dogg exclaimed, slapping some of the hands of the fans while he walking down the ramp. "Manhattan Center, New York City, let's get down to the real niddy griddy." Road Dogg and Billy Gunn entered the ring. "Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, children of all ages, tonight, D-Generation X proudly brings to you, it's six time WWE tag team champions of the WWWWWOOOOOORRRRRRLLLLLDDDDDD: the Road Dogg, Jesse James, the Badass, Billy Gunn, the New Age Outlaws."

D-Generation X's music played and out came X-Pac.

"It's X-Pac," Jim Ross stated.

"Looks like the band is really back together," Jerry 'The King' Lawler mused.

"All the combustible elements are in the ring right now," JR said. "What a lot of talent."

All the members of DX embraced each other, much to the delight of the fans in the Brooklyn center.

"Manhattan Center!" X-Pac greeted. "Raise some hell and make a little noise." The crowd cheered. "Look, I know this was supposed to be a DX reunion, but you can't have a twenty-fifth RAW anniversary without this guy..."

Razor Ramon's music hit and the WWE Universe was ecstatic about seeing The Bad Guy. Razor came out doing his usual strut and walked to the ring with his swagger his was known for. X-Pac handed Razor his microphone and Razor put the microphone to his lips. "HEY, YO!" He took in the adulation from the crowd. "Now, everyone knows that you can't have a party on RAW without the Bad Guy," he smiled to the crowd. "Now I've been watching the show from both locations and I think we can agree that this RAW has been..."

"I know where you're going with that,' The Heartbreak Kid interrupted. "And while I agree with what you're fixing to say; we have an honorary member of DX that needs to join us. Ladies and Gentleman, Natalie Michaels."

"My eyeballs are fixing to be so happy," King declared.

"Calm down, King!" JR exclaimed.

The crowd cheered as DX's music played instead of her own entrance music. She still had on her outfit from earlier. She slapped the hands of the fans as she walked down the ramp. Shawn opened the ropes for her as she got inside the ring. She enveloped her Father in a hug much to the excitement of the fans in attendance. The Game approached Natalie and gave her a hug. The rest of the Kliq gave her a high-five and a hug.

Shawn handed Natalie his microphone. "Now, like Razor was fixing to say, this RAW has been... TOO SWEET!" The Kliq and Natalie were about 'Too Sweet' each other, but was interrupted when the music of Finn Balor blared through the Manhattan Center.

"Wait a minute," King said. "What's this?"

"The Balor Club," JR replied.

"I know that, but what for?"

"I don't know," JR responded. "But, there's Balor, Gallows, and Anderson and I don't have any idea what they are doing here. I am sure that RAW was a big part of their younger life."

"I was enjoying this reuniting of DX and the appearance of the lovely Natalie," King stated. "I have no idea what brought these guys out here."

Finn did his usual pose and taunt with the fans before entering the ring with his fellow Balor Club members. The trio approached the Kliq and Natalie. All of them smiled at each other before doing the Too Sweet gesture with each other. The Revival interrupted and gave a promo about how they were real wrestlers and then a match was made between Gallows and Anderson and the Revival.

* * *

Natalie was standing beside Finn as them two and DX were in the corner of Gallows and Anderson who were making quick work of the Revival before hitting the Magic Killer for the pinfall.

Everyone standing ringside stood in the ring to celebrate the victory, but Scott Dawson wasn't having any of it. He turned Razor hoping to provoke but it backfired as Razor threw his toothpick at him. X-Pac followed suit with an X-factor to Dawson. Dawson got dizzy from the impact so he was wobbling around the ring before getting nailed with some punches by Road Dogg. And Billy Gunn finished off Dawson after hitting his finisher: Fame-ass-er.

Dash, upset with how his partner was treated tried nailing Triple H from behind with a clothesline but was met with a Sweet Chin Music by Shawn Michaels for his effort. Dash feeling woozy turned around and was met with a Pedigree courtesy of The Cerebral Assassin. The crowd started chanting for Finn to do his Coup De Grace and he did just that with the encouragement from Gallows, Anderson, the Kliq and Natalie. He landed the finisher onto Dash much to the delight of the crowd.

The New Age Outlaws pointed to Dawson who was still on the outside. The crowd cheered for them to drag Dawson back into the ring. Finn was going to go for Coup De Grace again, but was stopped by Triple H and Shawn Michaels. Shawn pointed for Natalie go to the top rope and the crowd cheered in adulation. Finn smiled to Natalie and motioned for her to get onto the top rope. In her heeled boots, she climbed up the turnbuckle and landed a picture perfect elbow drop, shades of her Dad.

The crowd chanted for Natalie. She grabbed another microphone. "And if you're not down with that, we have two words for you..." she pointed the microphone towards the crowd. "SUCK IT!" DX music started playing and Finn approached Natalie and gave her a friendly hug. Gallows and Anderson gave her hugs as well. Everyone in the ring did the Too Sweet gesture much to the delight of the crowd. Shawn embraced his daughter one more time before exiting the ring with her.

* * *

As soon as Natalie got backstage, she was surprised by the appearance of the WWE champion. He'd already made it to the arena. Everyone waved to her and told her good job in the segment. Shawn was still present though. "Good job out there, Nugget." He gave Natalie another hug. "I'll let you two talk." He patted AJ's shoulder before walking away.

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows. "What do we need to talk about?"

"Let's talk outside." Natalie nodded and grabbed her coat, putting in on since it was cold outside. The Phenomenal one grabbed Natalie's hand and lead her outside to the parking lot.

"Okay, what do we need to talk about?" Natalie wondered.

"So, you know how back at Survivor Series you saw me hug Carmella and she said it was because she was doing me a favor?"

Natalie nodded. "Yeah."

"Well, that favor involved you and we had to make sure that we were quiet about it."

"Why?" She wasn't sure why her best friend and crush would concoct a plan in secrecy.

AJ grabbed her hands. "We were working together on talking to your Dad and getting his blessing for me to date you."

Natalie's eyes widened. That would explain why she saw AJ and Carmella talking to Shawn at Smackdown and why AJ was talking to him earlier. "And what's the verdict?"

"I would like to date you and I am going to do just that." Natalie excitedly placed a kiss onto his lips before jumping into his arms. AJ immediately wrapped his strong arms around her and held onto her tight. "I take it that you accept."

"Yes, yes, yes!" She sounded giddy; she just hoped she didn't sound too giddy.

The WWE champion laughed at her adorableness. He took one of his hands and cupped her cheek, his thumb stroking along her cheekbone. "Natalie, now that you're with me, I am going to date the crap out of you."

Natalie giggled. "I am looking forward to it."

He kissed her softly before wrapping his strong arms around her again. She put her arms around his neck and held onto him tightly. It was cold outside considering it was a January night in New York, but her boyfriend was doing a Phenomenal job keeping her warm.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **They're finally together! Yay! Thanks to everyone has stuck around for this story. I appreciate it so much!**


	11. You Deserve Your Worth

**_A/N:_ Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. I really appreciate it. This story means so much to me. It's generally my go to if I start feeling stuck. Something about this story just gives me the fuel. Hope you all enjoy this chapter. **

**_Disclamer:_ I do not own AJ Styles or any other WWE Superstar that might be mentioned throughout the story. I only own Natalie Michaels.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Eleven: You Deserve Your Worth

* * *

Natalie and Carmella were eating breakfast at Tony's Breakfast restaurant in Washington DC. Natalie confessed to Carmella the previous night in their motel room after the WWE champion dropped her off that the two were officially dating. She also made Carmella aware that she knew about Carmella and AJ plotting about talking to her Dad since AJ confessed to her. She hugged Carmella and told her she was the best friend ever.

Natalie wished she could return the favor somehow. She'd been keeping up on the interaction between Seth and Carmella; which seemed to be a stand still. The blonde wasn't entirely sure why the Kingslayer wasn't making any moves on her best friend even though Carmella was sending signals out there to him that she was interested. Maybe she would have to return the favor.

Carmella looked down at her phone and sighed.

Natalie looked to her best friend with concern. "Is everything alright?"

"Am I repelling or something?" Miss Money In The Bank wondered. She'd sent a sexy picture to Seth before Natalie showed up to their motel room the previous night and he hadn't texted her back yet. She was doing everything in her power to show the man he was interested, but he didn't seem to let it soak in that brain of his.

"Absolutely not," Natalie scoffed. "You're the most beautiful woman I've ever met; completely unbiased."

"Thank you," Carmella giggled. "I just don't know what else I have to do to show Seth that I'm interested and that he can make another move already."

"Maybe he's not used to a woman being too abrasive with him."

Carmella shrugged her shoulders, taking a sip of her coffee. "I'm only being abrasive because he's not getting a clue."

"Mella, there is no doubt that he likes you. We'll be at the Rumble Sunday with the RAW roster, so talk to him then and find out what is going on."

"Yeah," Carmella agreed. "You're right. I just want to know if I'm doing something wrong."

Natalie took a hold of one of Carmella's hands. "Sweetie, you're not doing anything wrong. If he can't see what you're putting out there, then that's his loss."

"Do you think it could be because he's still getting over his last breakup?"

"Possibly. Just do like I said and talk to him at the Rumble Sunday. You've initiated the last couple of conversations; it's his turn now."

Natalie felt sympathy for her best friend. It was not too long ago that she felt that way about AJ. Now they were dating. It was still all surreal to her. She knew things would work out for Seth and Carmella like they did for her and AJ. She just knew it.

* * *

Natalie was sitting at one of the makeup chairs, scrolling through Twitter and replying to some of the fans. She was returning onscreen to Smackdown tonight and she was excited. Her head was down looking at her phone, not noticing that someone was behind her, hands covering her face. A huge smile graced her face as the culprit was none other than the Phenomenal One.

He bent down to place a kiss on her cheek. "You must be really into your phone to not notice my presence."

"Twitter can be interesting at times."

AJ nodded. He sat down in the makeup chair placed beside her. "You excited about your return tonight?"

"Duh!" Natalie exclaimed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"I was just checking," the WWE champion chuckled. "I'd figured you were still pumped about your return."

"Have you met me before?"

AJ rolled his eyes. "Yes, I've met you and you're pretty damn special."

"That's sweet," Natalie stated with a blush. "Thank you."

"I mean it is my job as your boyfriend to be endearing to you."

Natalie frowned. "What about the other times you were endearing to me? We weren't official then."

"I had to have a way to win you over. You see, babe, that's a part of my charm."

"Nice to know you were only sweet because it benefited you."

The Phenomenal One grabbed one of his girlfriend's hands. "Seriously though, you are special to me. I had to go through a lot of work to get you to be with me and it was all worth it."

Natalie felt her heart skip a beat. She took their hands and entwined their fingers together. "I must say that you're charming though."

"Yeah, I know." The WWE champion smiled at Natalie.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "You're also full of it."

AJ feigned a look of hurt. "I beg to differ."

"It's okay. You're lucky you're pretty." She broke their fingers apart. She took the same hand and stroked his goatee.

"Pretty? Don't you mean ruggedly handsome?"

"Not with beautiful hair like that." She ran her fingers through his gorgeous brunette mane.

AJ laughed. "Fair enough."

One of the producers came to get the WWE champion for his opening segment with Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. He got up from the seat and gave Natalie a kiss before heading out to do his segment. She watched him walk away with a huge smile on her face.

* * *

The Phenomenal One was preparing for his main event match which pitted him against Kevin Owens and Sami Zayn in an two-on-one gauntlet match. He heard a knock on his locker room door. He walked to the door and opened it, revealing Natalie Michaels on the other side. She'd finished up her segment for the evening and was now out of her sparkly indigo wrestling attire and was now dressed in a white ruffle tanktop with a biege leather jacket over it with black leggings and cheetah printed shoes. He noticed her hair wasn't in the same curls as when she was on television and her indigo ombre eyeshadow was off. Her hair was now in a fishtail side braid and her face was bare except for clear lip gloss. She still managed to radiate. He scooted to the side to she could come in.

She sat down in one of the chairs that was in front of the locker cubbyholes. AJ sat down in the chair that was perpendicular to her. He patted her leg. "What's up, Buttercup?"

"Can I run something by you?"

"Of course you can."

"So, Seth Rollins has been talking to Carmella as of late and Carmella is starting to think that Seth doesn't like her because she is expressing her interest, but he doesn't seem to be grasping that concept. I kind of want to do something about it."

"You basically want to the return the favor by setting her up with the guy she likes?"

Natalie nodded. "Correct."

The WWE champion fiddled around with the end of Natalie's fishtail side braid. "I understand that you're trying to help out your best friend; however, it might be for the best if you just see how things go with them."

"I know that Seth likes her though," Natalie sighed. "I just want to find out what's wrong with him and fix the problem."

"Talk to him at the Royal Rumble."

"I'm actually supposed to join him and some others for Crossfit Saturday morning before I head out to the arena for Takeover. Maybe I can talk to him about it then."

"Since when are you interested in Crossfit?" AJ asked with amusement.

"Since I've been trying to gain more muscle."

"C'mon," the Phenomenal One scoffed. "Natalie, I think you're beautiful the way you are."

Natalie felt her cheeks turn hot. "I know you do. I just don't like how I look, okay?"

"What's got you feeling insecure?" AJ couldn't understand why his beautiful girlfriend would feel so insecure about herself. She was honestly one of the most gorgeous women he'd ever laid eyes on and by some sort of miracle, she was with him.

"I'm just in my feelings is all," Natalie frowned.

AJ cupped Natalie's face in his hands. "You have nothing to be insecure about." He stoked his thumbs along her cheeks. "Believe me whenever I say this: you are the most beautiful woman I have ever met."

Natalie placed her hands on AJ's hands which were still resting on her cheeks. "I am?"

"Absolutely. Not only are you gorgeous on the outside, you have one of the most beautiful personalities." He pressed his forehead to hers. "Carmella adores you to pieces and I can't blame her. I'm on the same boat as her."

Natalie smiled and blushed. "You're amazing."

"Takes one to know one. If you think I'm amazing, it's because you're absolutely amazing."

She kissed him. "Thank you."

"You know I'm here for you."

"I told Carmella to talk to Seth at the Rumble on Sunday, but I may just talk to him on Saturday morning."

"I still recommend letting things play out, but it's whatever you want to do. Maybe he just needs the boost and you can possibly provide that. It probably wouldn't hurt."

A producer came to AJ's locker room to inform him that he was up in the main event. He kissed Natalie on the cheek and gave her the 'too sweet' sign which was reciprocated before walking out of the locker room. Another smile broke out on her beautiful face.

Even though her and AJ had only been dating for a day, she knew she was in something good and she just wanted her best friend to have the same thing. Maybe she could make that happen.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_ Thanks so much for reading.**


	12. I Can't Wait Through Everything

_A/N:_ **Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favorited, or followed this story. You all are absolutely amazing!**

 ** _Disclamer:_ I do not own AJ Styles, Carmella, Shawn Michaels or any WWE Superstar/Alumni that may be mentioned throughout the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Twelve: I Can't Wait Through Everything

* * *

All the WWE Superstars from RAW, Smackdown, and NXT were in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for NXT:Takeover and Royal Rumble pay-per-views. Natalie would be attending the Takeover pay-per-view alongside her best friend, Carmella. Carmella wanted to attend the show with Natalie so Natalie talked to Hunter about having her best friend attend and of course, he approved. She would also get to see her Dad in person again and she was looking forward to that.

That would be tonight; so right now, she found herself doing Crossfit with Seth Rollins.

The further she got into her workout with Seth, the more she understood why his nickname was 'Crossfit Jesus.' He was an Angel with the workouts. Before they got started with the exercise, Seth would instruct Natalie how to do it and she was able to comprehend how the process worked. She actually enjoyed Crossfit thanks to Seth. It was a lot of hard work and drained her energy, but she felt empowered and if she kept up with it, she would gain the muscle mass like she wanted.

The Architect decided on them doing Manmakers which is a full-body strength building workout, incorporating multiple movements in just one rep. Holding dumbbells, place them on the floor and jump back into a plank. Do a pushup, then a renegade row with the right arm, then another pushup, then a row with the left. Jump your feet in between the dumbbells and do a squat clean thruster.

Needless to say, that wore her out, but she knew it would be worth it in the future.

Seth was currently shirtless and clad in his black gym shorts as they were on number fifty of the Manmaker, which is the last round. Natalie was dressed in a white Nike tanktop with black Nike shorts. Both of their hair was in a bun on the top of their head, all the sweat making their hair damp.

She sighed in relief as they finally finished their workout. The blonde went to put her dumbbells up. Stepping backwards after placing the dumbbells on a rack, she collided with a hard body. She turned around and came face to face with her boyfriend, who had a smile on his face. "Hey! When did you get here? I thought I was supposed to ride with Seth to meet you and Carmella for lunch?"

The WWE champion put his arm around her waist and pulled her close to him. "I saw you do the last ten rounds of your workout."

"Oh my gosh! You saw me do the last ten rounds?" She buried her face in his shoulder. "I did a terrible job." She looked back up at him.

"You know that you're too hard on yourself, don't you?"

"I'm sorry," Natalie apologized. "It's a bad habit."

"You did a Phenomenal job, babe," AJ assured. "I'm proud of you for what you accomplished today. I heard Crossfit wasn't no joke and the fact that you did your first Crossfit workout with Mister Crossfit Jesus; well, that's pretty admirable."

Natalie blushed. "Thanks."

"Of course." He placed a soft kiss to her forehead, even though it was covered in sweat, but he didn't mind. He knew how hard she worked today and he really was proud of her. He would always be proud of her. "But, to answer your question from awhile ago, Carmella wanted to try to catch a ride with Seth and I wanted some alone time with you before you're busy all evening. So, we decided to come here and meet you so she could ride with Seth and you could ride with me."

"I never got a chance to talk to Seth today about Carmella because I was too wrapped up in the workout."

"I don't think there's anything to worry about."

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows before AJ scooted out of the way so she could see what he was referring to. The Phenomenal one was able to see in the mirror since he was facing it, so that was how he was able to see what was going on. Seth and Carmella were currently laughing and initiating in conversation. Natalie smiled at the duo. They certainly were cute together.

"You're right. Maybe I don't need to say anything."

"I don't think you need to at the moment," the older man agreed. "Now, if it's after the Royal Rumble and he still hasn't asked her out, then you may want to say something. He's clearly into her."

"I will knock some sense into him if he doesn't ask her out by the end of the weekend."

"You've been building muscle, show him what you're made of."

Natalie laughed. "I will be able to put my newfound strength to use."

"You going to go get showered before we go get food?"

"Nah, I think I'll just go looking like this," Natalie teased. She stuck out her tongue at her boyfriend. "Yes, I'll go get a shower. That was going to be the plan after I put the dumbbells on the rack. But, you just had to grace me with your presence."

"Go get showered because I'm starving."

"Quite the bossy one aren't you?" The blonde teased. "I'm going to go get my shower."

* * *

Natalie and Carmella found themselves backstage at NXT Takeover:Philadelphia. Natalie was dressed in a white long sleeved lace crop top with blue high wasted flowing pants. Her blonde hair was in a high curly ponytail. She finished off the look with brown eyeshadow that made her blue-green eyes pop and pink lipstick. Carmella was dressed in a black crop top sweater with beige skinny jeans and black high heel ankle boots. Carmella's hair was down in waves around her face and she was wearing gold eyeshadow and had a nude lip.

The two were hanging out backstage before they took their seats with the audience. She didn't see much of her Dad or Hunter because they were both busy with the finishing touches of the pay-per-view. So, the best friends were sitting at one of the tables at catering; Natalie hoping she would have a chance to see her Dad and Hunter before she went to take her seat.

"Which match are you most excited for tonight?" Carmella wondered.

"Aleister Black vs Adam Cole in an Extreme Rules match," Natalie answered. "I have no doubt it's going to be the show stealer. What match are you looking forward to?"

"I'm going to have to say the same thing. I'm a sucker for stipulation matches."

"Same here. And it might have to do with the fact that Adam Cole is my favorite NXT superstar."

"How would your boyfriend, you know... the Phenomenal One, feel about that?" Miss Money In The Bank teased.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "My boyfriend is well aware that Adam Cole is my favorite on the NXT roster, Bay-Bay." She'd told AJ awhile back during one of their small talk conversations about who her favorite NXT Superstar was. The WWE champion didn't have a favorite because he said they were all unique in their own way and it was hard to decide when there was a stacked roster.

"Speaking of AJ, how do you feel about the dirtsheets getting a hold of the information that you two are officially dating?" After having lunch with her boyfriend, Natalie had gotten several notifications with links leading to wrestling dirtsheets saying that her and AJ were dating. She knew it was inevitable that the news would leak and honestly, she didn't care cause it's not like it was a rumor; it was the truth.

Natalie shrugged her shoulders. "I give them props for not giving out false information."

"Always the optimistic."

"I try."

Natalie took a look at her Apple Watch and saw that it was time for her and Carmella to take their rightful seats. She hated that she didn't see her Dad or Hunter. She would have to peak backstage after the show.

"I guess we should head out there, huh?"

"I suppose so."

Carmella interlocked her arm with Natalie's and the best friends made their way out to the Philadelphia crowd where they would be watching the show up, close, and personal. Natalie was honestly more excited for this Takeover than War Games and that's saying a lot because she absolutely loved that Takeover. She had no doubt that the match she was looking the most forward to would steal the show.

* * *

Takeover was over with and Natalie was honestly surprised that she still had a voice. Between screaming on the top of her lungs for the Black versus Cole Extreme Rules and the Johnny Gargano vs Andrade Cien Almas NXT championship match, she was sure that her voice would be exhausted. But, here she was yapping in her best friend's ear about how amazing the show was.

"I don't understand how you still have a voice after all the hollering you did at ringside," Carmella stated.

Natalie laughed. "I don't know either."

"You're so cute though, Natalie."

"Thanks, Mella," Natalie smiled. "I've been told once or twice that I'm cute."

The two best friends walked backstage to see if they could find Shawn or Hunter. To her luck, she saw them at the Gorilla. Shawn and Hunter saw Natalie and Carmella headed their way and they all four waved to each other.

"Hey, Nugget. Hey, Mella," Shawn greeted. "What did you think of the show?"

"I'm surprised Natalie still has a voice and that I'm not deaf," Carmella teased. "She got exceptionally loud during the Black vs Cole match."

"You already know that was the match that I wanted to see." Natalie stuck her tongue out at her best friend. "What did you expect me to do, Mella? Just stay quiet?"

"No, but damn, I think you got a little too excited, my dear."

"Glad to know that you enjoyed the show," Hunter said. "I should just invite you to all the Takeover's from now on."

"I would be totally fine with that," Natalie smiled.

"Are you two ready for the Royal Rumble tomorrow?" The Heartbreak Kid inquired. "You two are going to make history just by participating in the first ever women's royal rumble match."

"I'm pretty stoked, Dad. I have been waiting for this moment my entire life because The Royal Rumble is my favorite event alongside Survivor Series."

"What about you, Carmella?"

"I'm excited about it too."

"You two ladies are going to do great," Hunter assured. "I think your history making match will take the place as the match of the night."

"So, Hunter and I were going to get food after the show was over, would you two like to join us?" Shawn wondered.

Natalie and Carmella looked at each other with the same thought. "Of course," Natalie answered on their behalf. "We both love food."

* * *

The Royal Rumble was finally here and Natalie had butterflies in her stomach the size of eagles. She was sitting in catering alongside her boyfriend. He was opening the show defending his WWE title against Sami Zayn and Kevin Owens. Natalie had been apprehensive all day, so she wasn't the same sweet and energetic woman that would help calm down anyone. She was the one that needed the guidance this time.

"Natalie, it's going to be alright," The Phenomenal One assured. "You're going to do amazing in your Rumble match."

"I just don't get why I'm so nervous for."

"It's the first time ever women's Royal Rumble match. That's groundbreaking and it tends to make people nervous. There's a lot of pressure there."

"I'm going to need my nerves to go away before the match."

"They will," AJ promised. "Once you get out there, all your worries will fade."

"You're right."

"So, I was wondering, since we are color coordinated with our gear, if you wanted to take a picture with me?" Both AJ and Natalie were wearing turquoise for their color choice of the evening. They didn't even plan it either. You know what they say, great minds think alike. AJ will admit that he likes Natalie's look for the evening. She had her hair straight and she was wearing turquoise eyeshadow and purple lipstick. To him, she resembled something like a mermaid.

A smile formed on Natalie's purple lips. "That would be Phenomenal."

Carmella came around at the perfect time. "Don't you two look adorable? Total relationship goals."

"Thanks," Natalie blushed.

"Natalie and I were just fixing to get a picture together. But, since you're over here Carmella, do you mind taking the picture of us?" The Phenomenal One handed Carmella his phone.

"I would love to." AJ had his shoulders around Natalie and they both did the too sweet hand gesture. Carmella smiled as she took the picture. "Awe, you two are so cute."

"That's definitely going on my Instagram," The WWE champion stated.

AJ let Natalie see the picture on his phone and Natalie smiled. "That is such a good picture of us. I'm going to have to post it to my Instagram later."

"Natalie, Carmella." Natalie and Carmella turned around to see one of the producers behind them. "They want you at ringside. They want to get all the women to take a picture before the doors open." Natalie and Carmella nodded.

Not wanting to mess up her flawless makeup, AJ just kissed Natalie on the cheek. "I'm going to go warm up. I'll see you later. Go have fun."

Carmella entwined her arm around Natalie's and they went to the ringside to where all the other women participating in the Royal Rumble. Lita, Trish Stratus, Torrie Wilson, Beth Phoenix, Kelly Kelly, Michelle McCool, Molly Holly, Jacqueline, Vickie Guerrero, Nikki and Brie Bella, and all the current women's roster all had starstruck looks on their faces.

* * *

Natalie spent over an hour socializing with the women. She had a lot of fun talking with Lita and Trish Stratus. She took pictures with Kelly, Michelle, Torrie, Nikki and Brie, Lita, Trish, and many of the women. Her favorite picture she took though was the one with her, Stephanie, Carmella, Kelly, Lita, Trish, Torrie, and Michelle. All of her favorite women in one picture.

She wanted to catch her boyfriend's match, so she went to the women's locker room to watch the beginning of the pay-per-view.

Michelle stood beside Natalie, placing a hand on her shoulder. "So, how are things going with you and AJ?"

"Things are going great. I couldn't ask for a better boyfriend."

"I've seen some of the pictures of you two and you're adorable."

"Thanks," Natalie smiled. "I like him a lot."

"How do you feel about your relationship officially being public knowledge?"

Natalie shrugged. "It is what it is."

"So, you don't feel the pressure of being involved in a high profile relationship within the business?"

"I suppose not. I haven't really thought about it. I just treat my relationship like if we were living a normal lifestyle."

The Flawless One nodded. "That's great, Natalie. Keep that mindset and you'll be just fine." Michelle exited the locker room, leaving Natalie in there to continue watching her boyfriend's title match.

* * *

10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... beep. 'I Am The Fire' blares through the speakers and out comes Natalie Michaels to a huge ovation from the crowd at number seven. "Here comes a part of the women's revolution. Natalie competed in the first ever women's TLC singles match against Natalya in 2016," Corey Graves stated.

"She is the daughter of the Heart Break Kid, Shawn Michaels, but I think Natalie has done well in creating her own legacy and managing to not be in the shadow of her Father," Michael Cole stated.

"Natalie returned last October from what most people considered a career ending injury that she suffered at this past Wrestlemania, and I think she's even better since she's been back," Stephanie McMahon stated. "She's definitely women's champion material and she is one of the favorites to win the Royal Rumble."

"Since Mandy Rose got eliminated, Natalie is my pick to win the Royal Rumble!" Corey exclaimed.

The crowd starting chanting, "AJ Styles... AJ Styles... AJ Styles."

Natalie entered the ring and hit a Sweet Chin Music to Sasha, Becky, and Lita. She was flabbergasted to hear the crowd chanting AJ's name instead of hers, but she pushed that thought aside and focused on making a name for herself in this historic match.

* * *

The WWE champion watched as it was just left down to Natalie and Asuka. Nikki just eliminated her sister Brie, and right after that, Natalie eliminated Nikki. Natalie and Asuka stared down at each other and listened intently as the crowd gave them a standing ovation.

"Remnants of Survivor Series. It's just down to Natalie and Asuka," Michael Cole said.

"I'm still betting on Natalie," Corey stated.

"This is such an exciting moment. These two women have put on such an impressive showing," Stephanie stated. "They should be proud for all they accomplished tonight. As a matter of fact, all the women who participated should be proud."

AJ noticed a trend in the match. For each woman that came out, the fans would chant for that woman's significant other. For Lana... it was Rusev Day, For Michelle...it was Undertaker, For Nikki Bella...it was John Cena sucks, and for Brie Bella...it was Daniel Bryan. The thing that stood out for him the most was when they were chanting his name during Natalie's appearance. He knew their relationship was spread out to the public, but he still didn't expect what happened to happen. He could tell at first it was bothering Natalie, but she eventually seemed to ignore them as she put on a performance at the Royal Rumble.

Speaking of that, Natalie and Asuka put on an incredible sequence of moves before Natalie was unceremoniously eliminated for Asuka. Natalie had a look of defeat and while she was a great actress, he could tell that some of that emotion was real. He exited his locker room, heading towards the Gorilla in attempts to comfort his girlfriend.

A few short moments and he was there. She walked down the steps and she immediately went into his open arms. "You did great, you be should proud of what you accomplished tonight."

She placed her hands on his forearms and looked up at him. "Thank you."

"So, do you want to talk about those chants out there? I know they bothered you." He took her hand and led her to the nearest trunk and they both hopped up on it.

"I know our relationship is hot news but I still wasn't expecting the fans to be chanting your name during my entrance."

"If it's any consolation, they were chanting other superstars' names during your match."

"You're right, I'm just overreacting."

"I know what will make you feel better." AJ kicked his foot against Natalie's. "Why don't we get out of here and get some good food? You more than deserve it."

"What about Carmella?" Natalie wondered. "She rode with us here."

"Rollins approached me earlier and said that he wanted to take Carmella out before the rosters have to split up again," AJ replied. "So, I get to have you all to myself tonight."

"I'm totally okay with that."

"Great!" The Phenomenal One exclaimed. "And while you're in the locker room changing, can you please wipe that purple lipstick off your lips. I haven't been able to kiss you like I wanted to because I didn't want to mess up your makeup and I definitely think I've waited long enough."

Natalie laughed. "You poor Baby. Yes, I'll take my lipstick off. As a matter of fact, I'll wipe my entire face clean."

"I'll meet you in the parking garage." AJ patted Natalie's leg before both of them got off the trunk.

Natalie couldn't help but think about what Michelle and her talked about earlier. At first, she wasn't bothered with her and AJ's relationship being put in the spotlight, but after not taking the fans chants too happily, even though they were chanting her boyfriend's name, she couldn't help but think that maybe she wasn't ready for a high profile relationship.

* * *

 **A/N: Hope you all enjoyed this. Thanks alot for reading.**


	13. Nothing Matters But Being With You

**_A/N:_ Thank you so much for all the follows, favorites, and reviews on this story. **

_**Disclaimer:**_ **I don't own AJ Styles, Carmella, or any other WWE Superstar that may be mentioned throughout the story. I only own the character: Natalie Michaels.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Thirteen: Nothing Matters But Being With You

* * *

Valentine's day fell on a Wednesday this year and the WWE champion couldn't have been more grateful. This was his first Valentine's day with Natalie and the first Valentine's day he was in a relationship in what felt like quite some time. He had no idea what to do for Natalie for Valentine's day.

It was Tuesday night and Smackdown just finished airing. Natalie had teamed with Becky Lynch against Ruby Riott and Liv Morgan in which Natalie got the victory with her Edgecator submission on Liv Morgan, which was now called: Natalie Ever After(a play on Happily Ever After because she would get the victory to end the match and that made her happy.)

Like Charlotte, Natalie and Becky found themselves in a feud with each member of the Riott Squad, so Charlotte, Natalie, and Becky formed an alliance of their own based on an common enemy. Charlotte's main enemy was Ruby, Natalie's was Liv, and Becky's was Sarah.

AJ was currently in a feud with five of the top guys on Smackdown Live over his WWE championship. Sami Zayn, Kevin Owens, Baron Corbin, Dolph Ziggler, and John Cena were all vying for the WWE title. The Phenomenal One sat ringside on the show as Baron Corbin defeated Kevin Owens, who was already a part of the WWE championship match at Fast Lane. He also sat ringside as Dolph Ziggler defeated Sami Zayn who too was already in the WWE championship match at Fast Lane.

The WWE champion was waiting near the parking garage for Natalie and Carmella, whom were changing out of their attire for the show. The three were traveling together to Orlando from the airport because Natalie wanted AJ to come stay with her during their time off since it was Valentine's Day. She insisted that he do nothing for her for the most romantic time of the year since according to her spending time with him was good enough for her, but Natalie was very special to him and he was definitely going to do something for her.

Maybe he could talk to Carmella and get some ideas on what to do for Natalie. Speaking of the devils, they were heading his way. His girlfriend looked simple yet cute in her black v-neck shirt with a black blazer over it, dark blue skinny jeans, and black flats. She was makeup free and her long blonde hair was in a straight ponytail that swung from side to side when she walked.

Carmella on the other hand was dressed a little more ostentatious in a cheetah print shirt with a black leather jacket over with black leather leggings tucked into brown timberlands. Her blonde hair was down in waves with a black beanie on her head that said 'vogue.'

He always felt under dressed compared to Carmella especially tonight considering the fact he was wearing a black hoodie, black sweatpants, and black Nikes. Of course, a baseball cap on his head completed the look. Another thing he _loved_ about Natalie was how she kept her wardrobe simple behind the cameras. As a matter of fact, she loved simplicity in general and that was one of the main things that attracted him to her.

"Hey, Handsome," Natalie greeted her boyfriend. The Phenomenal One sat up from the chair he was sitting in and welcomed his girlfriend with a kiss.

"You ladies ready to go?"

"Yes!" Carmella exclaimed. "I am so ready for some food before we go to the airport."

Natalie laughed at her friend. "All I've heard since I got back the locker room to change was how hungry she was."

"So, food first, then the airport?" AJ inquired.

Carmella enthusiastically nodded her head and Natalie giggled. "The Princess has spoken. I guess that's the plan."

"Let's get to moving," Carmella demanded. She lead the pack to the parking garage. AJ and Natalie followed behind with him carrying his and her luggage.

* * *

AJ, Natalie, and Carmella were eating at a local diner not too far from the airport. Natalie heard her phone ring and her eyebrows furrowed at whom was calling her. It was Seth calling, but she didn't want to let Carmella know that it was him. The Architect had been in touch with her the last week about Valentine's Day plans for Carmella. She showed her phone to her boyfriend who was sitting beside her, who nodded his head in understanding. "Excuse me, I'll be right back."

Seeing Natalie walk outside to answer the call, AJ took this opportunity to speak with Carmella. "Carmella, I need your help again with Natalie."

"What is it?"

"I know Natalie told me that she didn't want me to go out of my way to do something for her for Valentine's Day, but I want to do something special for her."

"Awe," Carmella gushed. "That is too adorable. Well, you are coming to stay with us."

"I want to do something for her besides grace her with my presence."

Miss Money In The Bank laughed. "You're so good to Natalie. Well, we know how much she likes simplicity, so why don't you just cook her dinner and have a romantic night in?"

AJ mentally slapped himself. Why didn't he think of that? "Good idea. What do you think I should cook?"

"Fix some spaghetti. She was saying the other day how much she wanted some, but has not had the chance since we have been eating those pre-cooked Progenex meals on the road."

"I'll keep that in mind. I guess I'll go to the store in the morning while she's sleeping."

"No, I'll go to the store for you," Carmella insisted. "I thought Seth was going to be doing something for me for Valentine's Day, but he mentioned going home, so I'll be dateless, so I'll be more than happy to get the items for you."

AJ wanted nothing more than to tell Carmella about Seth's intentions for Valentine's Day, but he knew he would be in trouble with Natalie if he opened his mouth. "Thanks, Carmella. And, if it's any consolation, I'm sorry about Seth."

"It's okay," Miss Money In The Bank breathed. "I assumed we were making progress, but it seems like we are just taking steps backwards."

 _Trust me, that isn't the case at all_ , The WWE champion thought to himself. Natalie came back in and sat down in the booth beside him.

"Sorry about that, that was an important phone call," Natalie stated. "I hope you two were only saying good things about me while I was outside."

"Of course." AJ and Carmella said at the same time, causing all three of them to laugh.

* * *

It was 9AM and Natalie woke up to the sound of her phone alarm going off. She was glad to see that the WWE champion was sound asleep on the left side of her bed despite the alarm going off. Seth had told her that she should be at her's and Carmella's place by 9:30AM. She slipped on a pair of pants since she all she slept in was a t-shirt and underwear. She quietly went downstairs to Carmella's room(which had been Natalie's room before Carmella moved in, but Carmella had stated that she loved that room, so Natalie being the selfless person she was, moved upstairs) and saw that Carmella was soundly sleeping too.

She went to the living room and turned on the television for background noise since it was too quiet. She mindlessly scrolled through her twitter replying to some tweets and instagram liking photos. The blonde heard a knock on the door and knew immediately who it was. She set her phone on the coffee table before getting off the couch and answering the door.

She opened the door and on the other side was Seth Rollins, luggage in tow. "Hey, Seth."

"Hey, Natalie."

"Let me help you with that." Natalie grabbed Seth's luggage and helped him settle in the house. "Carmella's room is over there if you wanted to see her." She pointed to the bedroom at the end of the hall.

"Where's Styles at? I'd thought he was here too."

"He's upstairs sleeping. I didn't want to wake him up."

"Are you guys doing anything for Valentine's Day?" The Kingslayer wondered.

"Not really. Him and I are just going to hang out while you and Carmella go to dinner." Little did she know, her statement was partly accurate. Her boyfriend had other plans in mind for the night.

"Is it okay if I leave my belongings in here while I go to Carmella's room? I don't want to make much noise if she's sleeping."

"Of course you can."

"Thanks." Seth walked down the hallway to Carmella's room. Natalie smiled; she knew her best friend was going to wake up to a nice surprise and she was happy for her.

* * *

Seth walked into Carmella's room and laid down on the left side of her bed. He didn't want to bother her since she was sleeping. He turned on her television, turning the volume down low, trying his best not to wake up the sleeping beauty beside him.

Carmella rolled over and felt a hard body. Her eyes fluttered opened and found Seth Rollins laying down beside her. "Seth?"

The Architect looked over to the woman on the bed beside him. "Yes?"

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going back home."

Seth put his arm around Carmella's body and brought her close to him. "It's Valentine's Day, so I'm going to spend it with my favorite girl who isn't my Mother."

"That's sweet of you, Seth," The Princess of Staten Island complimented. "So, you were just saying you were going home to swerve me?"

"Yep. I know I was stubborn with my feelings before, but we have a good thing going right now and I don't want to mess that up."

Carmella felt her heart flutter. Seth usually wasn't so open with his feelings, so the fact that we was telling her what he just did meant the world to her. "We do have a good thing going."

"You and Natalie are going shopping this afternoon so you can find something to wear for our date tonight."

"You're taking me on a date?"

"Our first date to be exact," Seth confirmed.

"I told AJ last night that I would go get groceries for him this morning for his and Natalie's Valentine's Day plans."

"Natalie said that they were staying in."

"AJ wanted to do something for her, so he's fixing her dinner."

"Isn't that romantic of him?" Seth teased. "Do you want me to come with you to the store?"

"That would be wonderful," Carmella smiled. She kissed him quickly before getting out of the bed to get dressed. "I'm really glad you're here."

"Me too," The Kingslayer responded with a smile. He was genuinely glad that he was there. He looked in Carmella's direction and saw her changing her clothes. Forget the television that he turned on, he was going to have a good show to watch with Carmella changing in front of him.

* * *

Natalie and Carmella went shopping, so AJ and Seth were at their house hanging out. The two were playing Madden 2k18 on Natalie's XBOX one. They had played on Xavier Woods' upupdowndown show, with Seth ultimately winning. This was their rematch to the previous rematch they had. AJ was playing as the Atlanta Falcons and Seth was playing as the Chicago Bears. So far the guys were tied 14-14.

"I can tell you've been practicing, Styles," Seth complimented. "You're not sucking like the last time we played this game."

"Maybe you've just lost your touch, Rollins."

"I don't think so. They don't call me the Champ for nothing." Seth scored another touchdown so it made the score 21-14. "Don't break Natalie's controller."

The WWE champion stomped his foot on the ground and let out an angry huff. "I didn't break Xavier's controller, it just quit working."

"Yeah, after you smashed it against the chair enough times," Seth laughed.

AJ glared at the man beside him. "You think you're so funny don't you, Rollins?"

"I am absolutely hilarious."

AJ jumped off the sofa when he scored a touchdown. "Yes! That is what I'm talking about!" Someone would've thought that he scored the touchdown himself by the way he was celebrating.

"Alright, Styles, I'll hand it to you, that was good."

AJ paused the game. "All that celebrating made me thirsty." He went to the refrigerator and grabbed a water for him and Seth. He walked back to the living room and tossed one of the bottles to Seth.

"Thanks, man."

"Yeah, man," The WWE champion responded. "I can still be cordial even though you're the enemy."

The Architect chuckled. "It actually worked out that Natalie and Carmella went shopping because I had been itching at another chance to play Madden with you."

"Even though you're a showoff, you're not too bad to hang out with."

"As pleasant as that was, it's time for me to kick your butt again, Styles."

"Alright, Rollins, bring it on."

The game was unpaused and unbeknownst to them, Natalie and Carmella just walked in the door and looked in their boyfriend's direction with amusement. "Great, it looks like we've lost our boyfriends for the day," Natalie claimed, making Carmella laugh.

* * *

Natalie was in Carmella's bathroom helping her get ready for her date with Seth. Natalie was doing the finishing touches to her best friend's hair. "Mella, you're going to take Seth's breath away. You look breathtaking."

"Really?"

"Of course, I wouldn't lie to you." Natalie fluffed out Carmella's curls. "I'm finished. Take a look in the mirror."

Miss Money In The Bank did as she told and was taken back by her look. She was wearing a red v-neck shirt tucked into a black mid-length flowing skirt and black thigh high boots. A red satin choker was around her neck and it made the outfit come together nicely. Natalie made her hair and makeup absolutely flawless. Her blonde hair was curled to the nines and her smokey eyes and red matte lipstick were done to perfection.

"Wow!"

"That's what Seth is going to say when he sees you."

"Thanks for all your help in making this Valentine's Day wonderful for me."

"I love you, Mella. I want nothing but happiness for you." Natalie hugged her best friend. "And, I'm glad that you have Seth because that means I get to have more Crossfit sessions."

Carmella giggled. "Don't go stealing my man from me now."

"No way," Natalie assured. "I have own special man who's absolutely Phenomenal. So, you ready for your first date with Seth?"

"I'm nervous and excited."

"It's all going to be okay. I promise that you're going to have a good time."

"Okay," Carmella let out a sigh of relief. "Let's do this."

Natalie followed Carmella out of her bedroom into the living room where Seth and AJ were puzzled by Carmella's gorgeous look, but more so Seth. AJ walked over to Natalie and put his arm around her. "I think it's safe to say I did a good job helping her get ready," Natalie whispered in AJ's ear. AJ nodded and gave her the too sweet gesture.

"You look gorgeous," Seth complimented.

"Thanks," Carmella blushed. "You look great too." Seth was wearing a black blazer over a plain black t-shirt, black skinny jeans, and black sneakers. His hair was put back into a bun.

"Do you want me to get a picture of you two?" Natalie questioned.

"Please," Carmella answered. She handed Natalie her phone.

"Hey, Mella, get on Seth's back."

Carmella did as she was instructed and she hopped on Seth's back. She had her arms around his chest. Seth had a good grip on her legs, making sure she wouldn't fall down.

"Adorable." Natalie took the picture.

"Thanks, Natalie."

"You're welcome. Now go and have fun."

Carmella grabbed her little black Chanel handbag and walked out the door with Seth, who had his hand on the small of her back.

Natalie walked up to AJ, snaking her arms around his neck. His put his hands on her hips. "So, what do you want to do?"

The Phenomenal One grabbed his girlfriend's hand and led her to the kitchen. Natalie took a look around the kitchen and was awestruck. The kitchen was dimmed and there was a candle lit on the table with a sunflower(her favorite flower) in the center. "Oh my gosh."

* * *

The WWE champion led Natalie to the dinner table and pulled out her seat so she could sit down. "When did you have time to prepare this?"

"I prepared it while you were helping Carmella to get ready."

"This is so sweet," Natalie gushed. "Thank you."

AJ brought Natalie a plate of spaghetti. "Why are you thanking me for? It's Valentine's Day."

"And you fixed spaghetti? You really are the best boyfriend ever."

The Phenomenal One took his seat from across the blonde and took her hands in his. "You deserve the best, Natalie."

"Thank you," Natalie blushed. She took a bite of the spaghetti her boyfriend made. "This is absolutely wonderful. How can you be so perfect?"

"I'm perfect for you, sweet stuff."

Natalie felt her heart flutter. "So, I'm glad you didn't break my controller today playing Madden with Seth."

"Why does everyone think that I broke Xavier's controller? It stopped working."

Natalie giggled. "Handsome, it's obvious that the controller broke when you slammed it against the chair."

"Fine, maybe that's true," The WWE champion admitted. "But, I am still sticking with my story."

"Whatever floats your boat."

The two finished their dinner in an companionable silence. AJ took both of their plates to the sink when they finished. He then played a song on his phone and Natalie looked up at him, her blue-green eyes lit up. George Strait was her favorite country artist of all time and AJ was playing her favorite song by him. It was "Carried Away."

AJ extended his hand to her and she gladly accepted it. As they started swaying to the music, her favorite lyrics of the song were playing.

 _I get carried away by the look by the light in your eyes_  
 _Before I even realize the ride I'm on, baby, I'm long gone_  
 _I get carried away nothin' matters but bein' with you_  
 _Like a feather flyin' high up in the sky on a windy day_  
 _I get carried away_

"I didn't know you were good at slow dancing," Natalie stated.

"It's all about having the right dance partner." AJ twirled Natalie around. "And you're the right one for me."

"You think so?"

"I know so."

"How do you know?"

"Because I love you."

"You love me?" They were standing still now.

"Yes, I love you."

Natalie grabbed AJ's shirt and crashed her lips on his. "I love you too."

They finished dancing to the song.

 _I get carried away by the look by the light in your eyes_  
 _Before I even realize the ride I'm on, baby, I'm long gone_  
 _I get carried away nothin' matters but bein' with you_  
 _Like a feather flyin' high up in the sky on a windy day_  
 _I get carried away_

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Thank you so much for reading.**


	14. Things Do Get Better

**_A/N:_ I appreiciate all the love on this story. Thank you so much. I am so grateful. **

_**Disclaimer:**_ **I don't own any WWE Superstar that may be mentioned throughout the story. I only own the original character: Natalie Michaels.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Fourteen: Things Do Get Better

* * *

Natalie and Carmella were at a nail salon, the ladies getting pedicures done. Natalie was getting her toes done in a cobalt blue color, the color associated with her boyfriend when his titantron plays. AJ's animations on the titantron were cobalt blue. Carmella was getting her toes done in black and silver, the color associated with her boyfriend when his titantron plays. Seth's animations on the titantron were black and gray.

"Your boyfriend is a saint for dropping us off so we could get our toes done before going to the arena."

Natalie smiled. "He's wonderful."

"I'm glad that I get some quality time with my bestie. I feel like I haven't spent time with just you in forever."

"We both have boyfriends now, so some things are bound to change."

Carmella sighed. "I guess having a new relationship is new to me. I've gotten so used to it just being you and I that it's still surreal that you and I are in relationships."

"AJ and I have been together for a little over a month."

"I know. But, you and him haven't had much time alone since I'm always tagging along with you two."

"Mella, I don't mind if you tag along with us," Natalie assured. "I love you."

"I love you too," Carmella smiled. "It just sucks that I'm in another relationship where my boyfriend is on a separate brand."

"Seth seems invested in this relationship with you."

"It's about time he came to his senses," Miss Money In The Bank laughed. "I never thought he would get his act together, even after all the blatant signals I sent to him."

"I know right?" Natalie agreed. "So, there's something I've been wanting to tell you."

"What?" Carmella wondered.

"During AJ and I's valentine's dinner two weeks ago, AJ and I were slow dancing in the kitchen and he told me that he loved me."

Carmella turned to her best friend, her jaw dropped, but her hazel eyes were glistening at the happiness of her best friend's confession. "Really? He did? That's super adorable!"

"I was certainly surprised with the revelation," Natalie chuckled. "It's honestly been a long time coming. I thought I was going to be the first one to tell him because I was in love with the guy forever before we became official. So, it's a little shocking to know he said it first."

"It's so obvious that AJ was in love with you too, Natalie, even before you two started dating."

"What makes you think that?" Natalie wondered.

"Can I tell you a secret? Even though it's kind of irrelevant right now."

Natalie nodded. "Spill the beans."

"After Wrestlemania last year, AJ was going to ask you out then," Carmella confessed. "Then, your injury happened and he postponed that. He saw how much distress you were in and didn't want to overwhelm you with him asking you out. He talked about you all the time during your injury. He was mentioning how the place wasn't the same and that he missed his favorite Natalie lighting up the place with her shining smile and sparkling personality. He wanted to ask you out a couple of times while you were injured but he knew it was for the best if you just focused on recuperating and making your return to the ring. And then, when you came on back on the road, he wanted you to get acclimated with being back on the road. Let's not forget the biggest factor: your Dad. AJ worked so hard on convincing Shawn that he was a good candidate for you to date."

She didn't think it was possible, but she found herself loving her boyfriend a lot more. Her pushed the home button on her phone and stared at her lockscreen with awe. It was a picture of them together at the Hall Of Fame last year right before her injury. She remembered how he asked her to be his date and she found that to be one of her favorite memories. Sure, they'd taken a couple of selfies together since actually becoming official, but this picture would remain one of her all time favorites. He was looking as handsome as ever in his navy suit with white dress shirt underneath and a gray and blue plaid tie. Natalie was dressed in a light ash blue silk dress with cascading ruffles on her sleeves and hem. There was a slit going down her right side of the dress. Her hair was in a side bun and her makeup was neutral minus her deep red lipstick.

"You have a really good one, Natalie."

"I am very lucky, aren't I?"

"You two compliment each other so well. You and him have a big fanbase, well respected in the locker room, XBOX fanatics, and you and him are so passionate about the business. Not to mention, you and AJ treat everyone with so much kindness."

"You and Seth are a good match too. You have the opposites attract stereotype down to a science."

"He mentioned that he wanted to bring me to a Parkway Drive concert soon." Natalie laughed as Carmella let out a disgusted sound. "Not my type of music, but I'll go because it'll be fun seeing him in his element."

"Doing stuff like that is what is going to make your relationship work."

"It would be a whole lot easier if we were on the same roster though."

Natalie sighed. "I know it would be, Mella. But you and Seth will make this work."

"You're right, Natalie. I guess I'm just jealous of yours and AJ's relationship situation."

"Sweetie." Natalie turned her head to face her best friend, a look of seriousness gracing her beautiful features. "There is no reason to be jealous of AJ and I. You and Seth have your own unique relationship. There are going to be things that differ from you and Seth and AJ and I. If you're worried about intruding on my time with AJ, please don't; I love traveling with you and him. I get to travel with my two best friends. There's no need to feel the way you feel."

"You really are the best friend ever," Carmella praised. "Thank you for that. It's reassuring to hear that I'm not a nuisance."

"I love you and you're my best friend, but next time you say something negative about yourself, I may have to knock some sense into you."

Carmella laughed and nodded her head in understanding.

* * *

Natalie was stretching backstage before her match against Ruby Riott. She was donned in her red wrestling gear. She'd hardly ever wore her red gear so she figured she'd bring it out again for the night. It would be a nice change. She loved her look the WWE Glamsquad gave her for the night. She had red eyeshadow on her top eyelid with gold sparkly eyeliner on her bottom lid. The correlation of those colors made her blue-green eyes shine bright. Her lips were covered in shiny cherry red lipgloss.

She was stretching out her arms when she felt a pair of hands wrap around her waist from behind. She recognized those gloved hands anywhere. She smiled and turned around to face her boyfriend. "Hey."

"Hey." Natalie eyeballed her boyfriend's attire and saw he was wearing his Carolina blue and black tights. Those ranked among her favorites.

"I thought you were going over strategy with Cena?"

"Already did that. We know each other so well in the ring, were pretty much going to wing the entire match. It's only going to be like ten minutes."

Natalie nodded. "Gotcha. I'm looking forward to watching your match."

AJ finally took a moment to look at his girlfriend. She looked absolutely ravishing in red. Don't get him started on her red lips. "You look gorgeous tonight, Sweet Stuff. I really like red on you."

"Thanks," Natalie blushed. "I've rarely worn this attire, so when I saw it, I figured it was time to wear it again."

"You look beautiful no matter what you wear."

"Thank you." Natalie felt her heart flutter.

"You're welcome," the WWE champion smiled. "I have a question for you."

"Okay."

"Next time were off, how would you feel about coming with me to my house?"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," the blonde answered. "A change of scenery would be nice. I haven't been to your house since last October."

"Not much has changed since you were last there," the older man laughed. "I spend most of my time in my game room when I am home, so most of my stuff goes untouched."

Natalie's eyes lit up. "Oh yeah, the game room!"

"I'm guessing you're going to hang out in the game room?"

"Duh!" Natalie exclaimed, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I didn't have to time to play any of your awesome games last time I was at your house because I was so tired from all the traveling from my place to yours. Then, we woke up early to go to the football game and then we headed back to Florida after that."

"I already told Carmella that I was going to ask you to come with me during this time off. She said you better accept my offer."

"It's a good thing that I follow directions."

The WWE champion chuckled. "Yes it is."

"It'll be nice to have some quality time with you without having to work."

"I know what you mean. It feels like we hardly ever have private time outside of work."

Natalie smiled. "I can't wait. It'll be so nice to have you all to myself." She winked at him.

"That wink has me feeling excited."

Natalie giggled. "Good to know I have that affect on you."

A producer came onto the scene with AJ and Natalie. "AJ, Natalie, sorry to bother you, but Natalie's match against Ruby is next and we need her at the gorilla."

AJ and Natalie nodded their heads. "I'll walk you to the gorilla and then I need to finish preparing for the evening." He put his hand on the small of her back and escorted her to the gorilla. "You're going to crush it out there, Babe." They high-fived each other before he walked away.

Natalie heard her entrance music start and heard the cheers from the WWE audience. She smiled before walking up the stairs and busting through the curtain.

* * *

Natalie Michaels soaked in the adulation from the crowd as she stood on top of the ramp. She walked down the aisle, a bright smile on her face and her blue-green eyes shining. She looked like she could be walking the streets of Hollywood with her million dollar smile and her radiating beauty.

She saw a few fans that had split letters spelling out her name in the middle section. She saw so much of that back in the day, but now that was a rare sight to see. She pointed in their direction and gave them a thumbs up. She stood in the ring and soaked in the cheers from the crowd.

Becky Lynch made her entrance to the ring, evening the odds for Natalie. Followed by that was Smackdown women's champion: Charlotte Flair. Natalie smiled at the two ladies', knowing she had some incredible backup.

'We Riot' played through the speakers of the Staples Center and out came Ruby Riott flanked by Liv Morgan and Sarah Morgan. Ruby had on her game face as she knew that going against Natalie Michaels would be no easy task. It intimidated the Riott Squad at the presence of the top three females on Smackdown Live on the opposite side.

The bell rang and Natalie and Ruby stared each other down. Ruby pushed the blonde and Natalie responded with an elbow to the face of the rocker. Ruby then elbowed Natalie and a mini elbow war broke out until Ruby nailed Natalie with a knee to the abdomen.

Ruby Irish whipped Natalie into the corner and went full head of steam into the corner, but Natalie jumped up, placing her feet on Ruby's shoulders and bringing down the Riott Squad leader with an inverted headscissor takedown. As Ruby sat up, Natalie ran to her and nailed her in the face with a dropkick.

Ruby escaped the ring and Natalie boasted to the crowd. The crowd cheered for Natalie. The blonde did the 'bring it on sign', motioning for the Riott Squad leader to join her back in the ring. "Come on, Ruby!"

Natalie exited the ring, going after the leader, who was getting tended to by her teammates. Natalie was flanked by Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair and the three women stalked the Squad, who wanted nothing to do with them. Becky and Charlotte briefly ran off Liv and Sarah and that gave Natalie the opportunity to toss Ruby into the ring.

Pulling out a move from her old arsenal, she attempted to go for a springboard moonsault, but Ruby captured Natalie's foot and the blonde went face first into the mat. Natalie didn't cover her face, so she was sure she would more than likely have a slight nosebleed. She ate nothing but canvas.

Ruby dragged Natalie into the center of the ring and put her in a sleeper hold. Becky and Charlotte were cheering her on and the crowd started chanting, "Natalie, Natalie, Natalie."

Natalie fought out of the hold and landed a knee to the abdomen of Ruby. Ruby attempted to go for a back suplex, but Natalie landed on her feet. Ruby attempted for a clothesline, but was met with a standing enziguri from Natalie.

The hot sequence of the match was fixing to happen. Natalie landed another clotheline on Ruby, followed by two more. The blonde ended the sequence as she nailed Ruby with a jumping spinning heel kick.

Ruby sensed she was in trouble, so she crawled to her fellow Riott Squad members, but had no luck at Natalie dragged her to the center of the ring. She attempted to lift Ruby up, but the Riott Squad leader superkicked Natalie right in her face. The blonde instincts were to roll out of the ring, so she did. Ruby followed her and attempted for a suplex from the apron to the ring, but Natalie roundhouse kicked Ruby and the Squad leader teetered. The blonde went on the top turnbuckle and landed a diving hurricanrana; which was a move she hadn't used since NXT.

Natalie started tuning up the band to get ready for sweet chin music, so she didn't pay attention to the other two Riott Squad members getting into the ring. Liv and Sarah attacked Natalie from behind and the two were going after the blonde like she was prey.

Becky and Charlotte got into the ring and stopped the carnage the Riott Squad started. As soon as Charlotte got her hands on Ruby, all three of the Riott Squad members hauled tail out of the ring.

Becky and Charlotte tended to the fallen Natalie and helped her up, raising her hands up in the process. Natalie felt a trickle of blood from her nose from when she ate the canvas earlier. The crowd cheered the three popular women as they headed to the back.

* * *

AJ was waiting for her with a bottle of water, towel, and smile. He high-fived Charlotte and Becky as they passed him heading towards the locker room area. The WWE champion walked alongside his girlfriend as she sat down in one of the free seats in catering. He took the seat beside her and rubbed her leg. "Great performance out there tonight. I see you pulled out some of your old ariel moves."

"Thanks," Natalie breathed. "It wasn't great when my face ate the canvas." She opened the water bottle and took a sip of water.

"The blood from your nose goes with the red theme you have going on tonight."

Natalie laughed. "I guess it does."

"Seriously though, that was a great performance. It shouldn't be long before they put that title on you."

"Thanks, I wish. But, we know that Charlotte is the golden girl of the division."

"You're without a doubt the best performer of the women's divison," AJ stated. "You have a variety of moves and your skill set is awesome. I haven't seen anybody else in your division perform moves with such grace and poise."

"I feel like you're being biased right now, Handsome. You don't have to feel obligated to tell me those things because we're dating."

The older man shot his girlfriend a flabbergasted look. "Babe, I'm being completely honest with you. Why would you think that I'm saying such things with an ulterior motive?" He always thought that she was the best performer in the women's division. She gave Carmella her best matches. Her and Nattie always tore the house down. And, her performances with someone with less experience like Liv Morgan were awe-inspiring. She was really born to do this.

"I'm sorry."

"It's alright. I just want you to know that everything I tell you is the truth. I don't want you to have such negativity on yourself because you're too good at what you do." The Phenomenal One wrapped his arm around her and placed his lips to the side of her head.

Natalie had to remember what she told Carmella earlier in the day about how she needed to stop being so negative. Natalie needed to tell herself those words. It wasn't right for her to be hypocritical. "Can you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Next time I say something negative, please knock some sense into me."

"I won't do that, but I can arrange for Carmella to do that."

Natalie laughed. "Sounds like a plan."

AJ got up from his seat and extended his hand out to Natalie. "We can hang out in my locker room until my match. It'll give you some time to wind down from your match." She grabbed her bottle of water and threw the discarded towel into a bin. She accepted his hand and he kept a grip on it as he lead her to his locker room.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Thank you so much for reading.**


	15. I Wanna Feel You Holding Onto Me

**_A/N:_ Thanks to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. I appreciate the love for it. I hope you all enjoy this new chapter.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I don't own any WWE Superstar that may be mentioned throughout the story. I only own the original character: Natalie Michaels.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Fifteen: I Wanna Feel You Holding Onto Me

* * *

AJ took a picture of Natalie, who was under a pier at the beach. Her beachy waves were blowing in the air gracefully. She was dressed in a white shirt with a beach scene printed on it with white skinny jeans. He was admiring the way she appreciated the atmosphere of the scenery surrounding her. She smiled at him as she relinquished her phone from his hands.

She posted the picture on Instagram. _itsmeNatalie: Tropical State of mind._

Instead of Natalie going to AJ's house in Gainesville; he instead surprised her with a trip to Tybee Island that was located in Savannah, Georgia. Needless to say, she was shocked by the trip, but flattered all the same.

"Will you take a picture with me please?" The WWE champion had that one picture of them at the Royal Rumble together on his Instagram, but she barely had any pictures of them together on her Instagram since they started dating.

AJ pried Natalie's phone from her hands again and she got the hint at what his answer was when he placed her front facing camera on them. He brought the phone as close up to his face as he could. Natalie was behind him with her left arm around him and her chin on his left shoulder. The Phenomenal one snapped the picture and Natalie admired the photo as her phone was handed back to her.

"There. How was that for a picture?"

"It's an adorable picture," the blonde gushed. "We get to see your handsome face very closely."

"I think more people are going to be focused on the beauty standing behind me." Natalie blushed at his statment and he smiled. "Awe, did that statement make you blush?"

"No," Natalie scoffed. "The blowing wind is making my face turn red."

AJ rolled his eyes and snickered. "Whatever you say."

Natalie ignored his comment because she was now too busy trying to get that picture of them on her Instagram. She successfully posted the picture. _ItsmeNatalie: Our relationship is like the sea: endless, deep, and completely unique._ She showed her boyfriend what she posted. "Is that too corny?"

"Maybe, but it's coming from you, so I find it super adorable." He kissed her cheek.

"Thanks. You're okay with me posting this selfie, right?" She knew how AJ was much more private, so she wanted to respect his wishes and not try to overdo anything pertaining to their relationship. Their relationship was already a hot topic and while he didn't seem mind it or he wasn't let it bothering him, she was still getting acquainted with being in a high profile relationship. She did have a great boyfriend, so she wanted to show him off proudly.

The WWE champion put his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and they started walking along the beach. The sun was coming down and it was such a beautiful sight. The lighting of the pier and the little carnival that was taking place on the pier added an awe inspiring effect. "Of course I am okay with it. It's your social media, so you're free to post whatever you want."

"I know how you are about your privacy, so I just wanted to make sure."

"Babe, everyone knows about us. It's also not about me being a private guy. I understand that being a professional wrestler, people are going to want to know what goes on with us outside of wrestling. I'm okay with that; it's just that I'm not on social media as much as everyone else."

She assumed that he wanted his privacy outside of wrestling, but he seemed okay with people knowing about some of his private life outside of wrestling. "I knew that you weren't on social media as often as others. I just thought it was because you wanted your privacy."

"Sure, privacy is nice," The Phenomenal One laughed. "But, I came to terms with having a huge fanbase who is curious about what their favorite wrestler does outside of wrestling. For instance, I am dating one of the most amazing women in the whole business. I would be interested to know about that."

"Me too," Natalie giggled. "How many women get to lay claim to the fact they are dating one of the biggest heartthrobs in the whole wrestling industry?"

"Carmella is dating Rollins and a lot of females think he is pretty dang good looking."

"Please," Natalie rolled her eyes. "Seth is a good looking guy, I'll give him that, but there is a certain man from Georgia who can claim the throne as the most handsome guy in the wrestling industry."

"So, you think Cody Rhodes is the most handsome guy in the industry?"

Natalie rolled her eyes and scoffed. "As if! I was definitely referring to you."

AJ laughed and tucked Natalie tighter into his side. "I was just kidding with you. I like to tease you."

"I've noticed that."

"The night is still young. Is there anything else you want to do?"

"I wouldn't mind seeing what's happening over at the little carnival thing? It looks like a fun time."

"Well, we are in the completely opposite direction of the pier from a few minutes ago, so we might want to turn around." The WWE champion and his female companion turned around and walked back towards the pier, his arm still draped around her shoulders like glue.

Natalie had reached in her jeans pocket to turn off notifications on her phone. She decided she wanted to spend the rest of her evening solely with her boyfriend and not be involved in her phone.

* * *

After an amazing night, Natalie didn't think there could be more fun things planned, but AJ never failed to amaze her. Today was a brand new day and she was in awe when she saw a picnic set up on the beach. Earlier in the day, her and AJ had breakfast in bed thanks to room service and it was nice to just lay in the bed for awhile longer with her handsome man.

He had told her to get ready because he had something planned for them and while she was curious about what is was, she didn't want to inquire about the plans. It was a chilly day at the beach so Natalie was dressed in a dark gray henley with blue floral print, dark blue skinny jeans, and she had on an older pair of black ballet flats since she always specifically packed for any trip she took because she never knew when they would come in handy. The ends of her hair were curled and half of her hair was pulled back into two different sections.

The Phenomenal One was dressed in a plain gray long-sleeved shirt, blue jeans, and an older pair of Nike tennishoes he packed specifically for this trip. He had a Georgia Bulldogs ballcap on his head. He lead Natalie onto the beach, his hand gripped onto hers. He stopped to where their picnic was setup and the two plopped down onto the blanket that was being used to hold their stuff and for them to sit.

She noticed there was items set out for sandwiches and she smiled at the simplicity. Sandwiches were the best things to eat while at the beach and she was just flattered with the thought he put into this. "Thanks for doing this."

"You're welcome."

She grabbed two pieces of bread and started making her sandwich. She added oven roasted turkey, provolone cheese, and lettuce for her sandwiches' dressings. She finished it off by adding mayonnaise. She looked over at AJ and laughed as he was adding way more to his sandwich. He had oven roasted turkey, smokey ham, bacon, american cheese, lettuce, and tomato on his sandwich. So in other words, he had a BLT.

"You weren't playing around with making your sandwich, were you?"

AJ laughed. "Not at all. There is nothing to joke about when it comes to food."

"I can see that you mean business," Natalie giggled. She watched with intrigue as he wasted no time in devouring his sandwich. She was taking a bite here and there of hers. "Dang, Styles. You're acting like you haven't ate in days."

"At least I'm not eating like a bird, Michaels."

"Sorry I'm taking the time to enjoy my sandwich."

"I think three snails just passed us and were looking seeing how you were putting them to shame by how slow you were trying to eat your sandwich."

Natalie rolled her eyes. "I see you have jokes."

"You know me, Sweet Stuff. Always here for your viewing entertainment."

"Thank goodness I have you. I would be absolutely bored without you." Even though she had a teasing tone, she was being serious. The man sitting on the other side of her did add much entertainment to her life and she was grateful to have him in her life.

"I'm the apple of your eye, gorgeous." The WWE champion sent a smile and wink his girlfriend's way.

"That you are, Handsome. I'm sure I am the apple of your eye too." She furrowed her eyebrows at him, waiting for his confirmation.

"You've been the apple of my eye for a long time, Michaels. You know that."

Natalie smiled. "That's sweet, Styles."

"I see you finally finished your sandwich. It only took you two million years," AJ teased. He laughed as Natalie shoved him playfully.

"You may be exaggerating a little on the time." Natalie scooted closer to her boyfriend and looped her arm through his and laid her head on his shoulder. "It's so beautiful out here."

"That it is," the older man agreed. "I was going to bring you to my house, but I thought a little getaway trip with the two of us was needed."

"I guess I'll have to wait to play in your amazing game room."

"Good things come to those who wait."

Natalie found that those words defined her life perfectly. She waited so long to be with her man beside her and now she was in such an amazing relationship. "Those words are so true."

AJ loved the feel of his girlfriend against him. He reached for his phone in the back of jean pocket and placed the phone in front of him and Natalie, the front face camera in view. They both smiled for the picture and he snapped the picture, highly satisfied with how it turned out. He showed the picture to Natalie and nodded in approval. It was so satisfied with the picture that he decided to post it on Instagram.

 _ajstylesp1: you, me, and the sea._ He was sure that his phone was going to blow up with likes. His picture with Natalie at the Royal Rumble was his most liked picture on Instagram. Maybe this one would top that because he found himself liking this picture more than the one of them at the Royal Rumble.

"You posted another picture of us on Instagram? Wow."

"I guess you're becoming a bad influence on me," he chuckled.

"Whatever." She rolled her eyes.

The WWE champion put a hand on Natalie's thigh and the two looked out into the beautiful Georgia ocean. They were just merely happy to be away from the crazy wrestling world (even though they loved it) and finally having a chance to spend time together outside of work.

* * *

AJ was asleep soundly on the bed and she was wide awake so she took to social media. The first thing she went to see was who liked the picture on her Instagram and then she was going to go to AJ's Instagram profile and see who liked the picture on his Instagram. On her Instagram: Carmella, Michelle, Lita, Torrie, Kelly, Alexa, Nia, Liv, Nattie, Renee, Seth, Finn, and Chris(Jericho) all liked her picture. On AJ's Instagram: Charlotte, Becky, Brie, Nikki, Bayley, Renee, Nattie, Baron, Randy, Chris, and Dolph all liked his picture.

She even smiled at some of the comments that were left on their pages.

 _carmellawwe: *heart eyes emoji* you two are so adorable!_

 _mimicalacool: AWWWW!_

 _torriewilson: cute couple._

 _reneeyoungwwe: aww, you guys are cute. *smiley face emoji*_

 _finnbalor: *rock on sign emoji* which is the too sweet taunt._

 _chrisjerichofozzy: good looking couple._

 _charlottewwe: *heart emoji*_

 _thebriebella: adorable! *blushing emoji*_

 _thenikkibella: aww, you guys! So happy for you two! *heart emoji*_

 _natbynature: two of my favorites! Love you guys!_

 _heelziggler: *rock on sign emoji* *heart emoji*_

Natalie was pleased to know that their wrestling peers approved of them being together. She wasn't really worried about that because at the end of the day, it only mattered what her and AJ thought. It was just relieving to know that people seemed to be happy with them being together.

She took a minute to look at the picture that was posted of her under the pier. She was curious to know who liked that picture too since she turned off her notifications. AJ(she had a huge smile appear on her face as she saw his name), Carmella, Seth, Lita, Michelle, Torrie, Alexa, Nia, Brie, Nikki, Dolph, Nattie, Renee, Kelly, Charlotte, Becky, Chris, Bayley, Finn, Billie, and Peyton liked her photo. The blonde was in shock with how many of her mutuals liked her photo.

She then went to Twitter and responded to some fan tweets. She liked interacting with the fans on Twitter. She took the time to respond to the people who were nice and not jerks. People that were jerks weren't worthy of her time. It was better to leave well enough alone.

The blonde got off the bed and quietly went to the balcony, dialing the number of best friend. An enthusiastic _"Hello"_ came on the other end.

"How are you doing?"

 _"I'm doing good. Just chilling at the house. I just finished facetiming Seth."_

"That's good. How are things between you two?"

 _"Good. It sucks that he has a different travel loop than we do, but nothing we can't handle."_

"Absolutely. I'm glad you and him are finding a way to make it work."

 _"Thanks, Sweetie. How's things with Mister Phenomenal? That picture you posted on Instagram was adorable."_

"I am having a great time. It feels nice just being with him with no work surroundings. And thanks."

 _"You're welcome. Glad you got to have some quality time with your man."_

"Me too. I don't want this to end though."

 _"I can imagine. At least you'll still get to see him when we're on the road."_

"You're right. I'm sorry that I wasn't considerate over that. At least my boyfriend gets to travel with me."

 _"Natalie, sweetie, it's alright. Seth and I are going to make this relationship work. As a matter of fact, during the next loop, we're both off on Thursday, so I was going to his house in Davenport."_

"That's exciting! That sounds like a great time."

 _"I'm excited about it. I will get to see his home."_

"I need to go home during that time. I need to check on Mom anyways."

 _"I actually went and saw her today and she's doing awesome."_

"Thanks for checking on her. You're the best."

 _"She's practically family to me. I didn't mind in the slightest."_

"So, I'll see you at the live event Sunday then?"

 _"Yes, you will. I will be there."_

"Great. I'm going to be facing you. That should be a fun time. I always have so much fun with you at house shows."

 _"Oh man! I have got something to tell you."_

"Okay, spill the beans."

 _"We had our upcoming scripts sent in the mail and there's going to be an epic match set up for FastLane. You ready for it?"_

"Spill those beans!"

 _"It's going to be you, me, Nattie, Liv, Sarah, Becky, and Naomi in a battle royal at FastLane to determine to the number one contender for the Smackdown women's title. I guess that means Asuka will be challenging for the RAW women's title at Wrestlemania."_

"That's awesome! I can't wait for that match."

 _"Me either. I'm betting that it's going to be you winning the match because people have been dying to see you and Charlotte go one on one forever since you both have been on the main roster."_

"I guess we'll have to wait and see. Thanks for sharing the exciting news. I'm getting tired, so I am going to go to bed."

 _"You're welcome! Thanks for calling. Love you, goodnight!"_

"Love you too, goodnight!" Natalie ended the call with her best friend and went back inside to lay down on the bed beside her handsome sleeping boyfriend.

She couldn't help but think about the conversation with Carmella and her revelation of the upcoming match at Fastlane. She was wondering if the company was going to possibly pull the trigger on her becoming number one contender heading into Wrestlemania.

Those thoughts were quickly dissipated as she felt a strong arm wrap around her waist and brought her in close to him. She snuggled into his side and shut her eyes, sleep coming to her immediately.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ _Thanks for reading. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter._


	16. I Know I Got A Good Thing Right Here

**_A/N:_ I appreciate everyone who has let me feel the love for this story. Thanks to everyone who has followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. **

_**Disclaimer:**_ **I don't own any WWE Superstar that may be mentioned throughout the story. I only own the original character: Natalie Michaels.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Sixteen: I Know I Got A Good Thing Right Here

* * *

Natalie sat in the living room of her's and Carmella's condo, unable to sleep. It was the last day off before everyone headed back out on the road. This go round, the Smackdown roster were preparing for Fastlane. Natalie anticipated her Fastlane battle royal match to determine the number one contender for the Smackdown women's championship.

Carmella was asleep in her room and AJ was upstairs asleep in her room. While she thoroughly enjoyed being in the comfort of her boyfriend's arms, she was getting too restless for her own liking. She despised nights where she couldn't sleep, but felt exhausted. Not wanting to disturb the WWE champion; instead of turning on the television in her room, she ultimately decided to come downstairs and hang out in the living room.

She'd been wanting to watch the WWE twenty-four special about Wrestlemania 33 in Orlando, Florida. Scrolling through the WWE network, she found what she wanted to watch.

She was a big part of this documentary. There was several cameos of her throughout the special. She'd been seen interacting with AJ, Carmella, Seth, her Dad, Hunter, Stephanie, Shane, Vince, Undertaker, Charlotte, Nattie, Alexa, and Nikki Bella sporadically within the episode. She watched on with intrigue at Seth's little story. He'd reinjured his MCL weeks before Mania and he was scared that he wouldn't make it to the grandest stage of them all. Then, by some miracle, he recovered and was able to take on Triple H in what was arguably the most anticipated match on the card.

Miz and Maryse had a big part of the documentary and she admired how humble the IT couple were. Miz and Maryse had teamed together against the team of John Cena and Nikki Bella in one of the night's most talked about matches. But, Miz and Maryse were enamored with the fact that they would be walking down the aisle at Wrestlemania for the first time together. Natalie thought that Miz and Maryse were certainly couple goals.

Of course, John Cena and Nikki Bella were a huge part of this twenty four special. Nikki had no idea that John had the intention of proposing to her. Natalie rode to the arena with Nikki to the stadium that day and Nikki had been talking her head off about how excited she was about teaming with the love of her life at Wrestlemania. When Natalie saw from backstage that John proposed to Nikki, Natalie had tears for joy at her friend getting engaged to the man she loved more than anything. She remembered her and Nikki embracing in excitement.

Natalie never realized how much she missed traveling with the Bella Twin until now. She had cherished memories of Nikki giving her grief over her and AJ and the fact the two were so stubborn with their feelings. Anytime Natalie walks into her and Carmella's condo, she looks at the big picture hanging in the spare room of Nikki dressed as The Phenomenal One and her dressed as The Showoff.

Naomi's story was certainly touching to her. Naomi was in her hometown and she was talking about how excited she was about performing in the place where she was born and raised. It came full circle for the Queen of Glow when she captured the Smackdown women's championship on the grandest stage of them all in her hometown.

Which brings her to her part in the twenty four documentary. She's backstage in the gorilla, crying in agony and frustration. AJ, Shawn, Carmella, Alexa, Vince, Hunter, and Stephanie are all by her side. Vince is giving her directions to go to the trainer's room. She has her arms around AJ and Shawn as they are helping her to the trainer's room. Carmella and Alexa are following suit. She had to laugh because here she was crushing on AJ hardcore and her Dad isn't even aware of her feelings and is still in the phase of her not wanting to date within the business. How times have changed.

She bored her eyes into the television as she watched her interview in regards to that disappointing night at Wrestlemania 33.

"I thought that this would the night where Natalie Michaels would finally lay claim to the Smackdown women's championship. It was upsetting to know that you had something so close in your grasp and then it slips between your fingertips."

A clip shows the doctor checking her knee out while Shawn is standing next to her. A matching look of fear and apprehension are on the faces' of the father and daughter. "You're definitely going to need surgery on your knee, Natalie," the doctor informed her. Natalie started crying as Shawn hugged his daughter in an attempt to comfort her.

She appeared on the screen again in her interview. "I felt like I had disappointed everyone. Especially my Dad. He's known as Mister Wrestlemania and I did everything in my power to put on a memorable performance. Yes, the fans remember some of the exciting spots I performed, but at the end of the day, people are going to look back and remember this as the night that Natalie Michaels injured herself on the grandest stage of them all."

Another clip showed her with an ice pack on her knee and she gets a visit from Seth Rollins. "Tough break out there. No matter what, you should be proud of the performance tonight. On the bright side, at least you got injured at Wrestlemania and not before."

Natalie let out a dry laugh. "Thanks. It hurts more than my actual injury knowing that I am not going to be out doing what I love the most."

"You're going to comeback and you're going to take the women's division by storm. You're Natalie freaking Michaels!"

"Dang skippy, I am!" Natalie exclaimed. "When I come back, those women better be prepared."

The screen switched from her interaction with Seth back to her interview. "I let that interaction between Seth and I burn in the back of my brain. It may be hard to believe, but Seth and I actually became a lot closer while I was out with my injury. When I had any questions dealing with my injury, he was the first person that I would contact. It just made sense for me to ask him anything because he just recently recovered from his MCL injury."

There's one final clip of her embracing Undertaker after his match against Roman as her and AJ headed towards the rental she rode in with Nikki Bella. Nikki was going to be leaving the stadium with John. The Phenomenal one helped her inside the car as she gingerly moved her injured knee. He loaded their luggage in the trunk before getting into the driver's side. He brought the engine to life and looked over at his passenger. "You ready to get back to the motel room and relax?"

"Most definitely. It's been an exhilarating night to say the least."

"This exhilarating night cost me a black eye."

Natalie giggled. "Some battle scars from your war with Shane."

"Remind me to thank him properly this Tuesday on Smackdown."

"I'll be watching from the comfort of my hospital bed."

"You know it won't be the same without you there, right? I mean who else I am going to be able to harass on a constant basis?"

Natalie laughed. "You really know how to make a girl feel better, Styles."

That scene changed to the last interview scene with Natalie. "It was nice to have that embrace with Taker after his match with Roman. He was obviously emotional much like I was. I remember him whispering in my ear telling me to keep my spirit up and that I would be a force to be reckoned with when I made my return." Natalie wiped a tear that was on the edge of her eyelid. "It meant so much to hear that from him. I hope that I can see him at the next Wrestlemania so I can tell him that I am indeed a force to be reckoned with." She smiled at the thought. "Anyways, if it wasn't for AJ being there with me post-mania event, I would've been absolutely devastated and lost. I couldn't really look at my Dad because I was afraid I disappointed him even though I know I didn't. I wasn't in the mood to hang out and socialize, but I wasn't going to be rude and shut everyone down. AJ made the sacrifice on everyone's behalf to assist me back to the motel. Poor Nikki didn't want to endure my emotional ways, but I am one hundred percent sure she wanted to ride back with John so they could celebrate their new engagement." She laughed. "Wrestlemania was an exhilarating night and even though I injured my knee, I am forever grateful that I was able to perform on the grandest stage of them all and have my Dad at the show to watch me."

The highlights from Wrestlemania 33 were now showing on her television screen. She smiled as she watched the amazing encounter between AJ and Shane. Speaking of one of the competitors from that match, she felt the familiar hand of her boyfriend touching her shoulder. She grabbed his hand with her own and bent her head back to look up at him.

* * *

The WWE champion bent down to place a soft kiss to her forehead. "Couldn't sleep I'm guessing?" He walked over and sat down beside her on the couch.

"No. I didn't want to bother you, so I came down here to watch the television. I'd been wanting to watch the WWE twenty four special about this past Wrestlemania, so I figured now would be the best time to catch it."

"Gotcha. I opened my eyes and saw you weren't in the bed, so I figured you had to be downstairs."

"Being snuggled with you was nice, but not being able to sleep was annoying."

"I understand."

"I am always the last one to get to sleep. It takes no time for you to get in sleep mode."

"Actually, if I remember correctly, when we finally got settled back in the motel room after Mania; which by the way, Nikki was more than happy to give up her room key, but, you were out within the first thirty minutes."

Natalie laughed. "It was a long night and I was doped up on pain medication that made me drowsy."

"You still beat me to sleep that night," AJ teased.

Natalie rolled her eyes. "Fine, I guess it counts."

"Well, since we're both awake, you should help me practice with Madden so next time Rollins and I play, I can kick his butt."

"Sure. Just don't break any controllers please," Natalie teased.

AJ rolled his eyes. "I think I've done a good job with my video game anger as of late."

"You have. I just like teasing you every once in awhile." Natalie grabbed the controllers from the coffee table and turned on her game console with the controller. She handed her boyfriend the first player controller. "I don't see how playing with me is considered practice, but I love playing video games with you nonetheless."

"Whatever, Michaels. We both know you have some video game playing skills."

"You always crush me when we play Madden."

"So? Babe, you practically decimated me when we played WWE 2k18 last night."

"I'm sorry, but you honestly didn't stand a chance."

"You were playing as me, so it was going to be hard to find someone else who had my credentials in the game."

"You were playing as Roman because he had the highest rating of ninety-five. You thought you were going to be slick, but that didn't work out too well, did it?"

AJ scoffed. "It didn't work out so well. I played as you during the second match and you were playing as Carmella. Your rating was 82 and her rating was 79."

"I told you, Handsome, you did not stand a chance against me."

"Okay, well I am going to show you why I am the Prince of Phenomenal when we play Madden," The WWE champion teased. He patted Natalie on her leg. "My Atlanta Falcons are going to crush your New York Giants."

Natalie was a fan of New York Giants and Miami Dolphins and since she played as the Dolphins last time, she was playing as the Giants. "You probably are going to crush my team and I am okay with that. I am just merely happy to be here playing a video game with you." She leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"That was sweet, Michaels, but be prepared to feel defeat."

Natalie laughed and rolled her eyes. This was her boyfriend, but she would not change him for the world. She would probably keep him around for awhile.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Thanks so much for reading.**


	17. Life In The Fastlane

**_A/N:_ Thanks for the showing this story the love. Wrestlemania season is utlimately in effect right now. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Thanks for reading.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I only own Natalie Michaels. I do not own any WWE Superstar that is mentioned throughout the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Seventeen: Life In The Fastlane

* * *

'I Am The Fire' blared throughout the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. The Ohioans greeted Natalie with a warm welcome. 'Smackdown's Sweetheart' as she's been nicknamed as of late, made her appearance in front of fifteen thousand strong. Natalie Michaels was the first participant in the women's battle royal to determine the number one contender for the Smackdown women's championship.

She was dressed in her new all black attire. She was wearing her black sparkly lace up crop with matching black sparkly shorts and matching black sparkly kickpads over her boots. Her hair was in styled in an pompadour and her blue-green eyes were covered in thick black eyeliner. Natalie had an antithesis look from her usual bright colored attires and makeup.

"The following contest is a women's battle royal to determine to the number one contender for the Smackdown women's championship. Introducing first, from San Antonio, Texas: Natalie Michaels!"

Natalie walked down the aisle, taking the time to shake the hands of the fans. She got into the ring and climbed onto the turnbuckle, smiling and pointing at the crowd. She saw a group of men who were holding signs supporting her. One sign said: _Natalie is my sweetheart._ Another one said: _Natalie, please don't break my heart, I love you._ Another one: _Natalie is the next SD women's champion._ The last one: _I am a Natalie Michaels guy._

Natalie found it endearing that she had her own little entourage. It made her heart swell with pride.

The blonde waited in anticipation for the other participant's to make their way down to the ring.

'Fabulous' played and out next was Natalie's best friend in real life, but rival onscreen: Carmella. The Princess Of Staten Island looked fabulous in her cheetah bodysuit with Fabulous and a dollar sign written in pink on the front and Mella written in pink on the back. She had on her trademark black knee socks and black and pink jordans. Carmella's long blonde hair was down in waves. Her hazel eyes had the smokey eye effect going on and her lips were covered in sparkly clear gloss.

"Introducing next: The Princess Of Staten Island: Carmella!"

Carmella was welcomed with a mixed reception from the WWE Universe. She did her trademark moonwalk on the stage and then skipped and hopped down to the ring. The Princess Of Staten Island stared at Natalie and rolled her eyes, standing in the corner opposite from Natalie.

The onscreen rivals stared at each other as they waited for the other women to make their respective entrances.

* * *

It was left down to Becky, Carmella, and Natalie. Sarah Logan had been eliminated by Becky. Liv Morgan was eliminated by Natalie. Nattie was eliminated by Naomi. Naomi was eliminated by Carmella. Right now, the crowd was split between Natalie and Becky. Chants of: "Let's go Natalie" and "Let's go Becky" was echoed throughout the Nationwide arena.

The Lasskicker climbed onto the turnbuckle and landed a picture perfect missile dropkick onto Natalie. Carmella, wanting to capitalize on Natalie's newfound punishment, grabbed her and attempted to throw her over the top rope. Natalie countered and tried to eliminate Carmella. Carmella screamed and hung on for dear life, trying to save herself from being eliminated. She regained her composure and roundhouse kicked Natalie in the face.

Natalie was stunned for a little bit and Carmella got back inside the ring. Becky came out of nowhere and landed a picture perfect calf kick to Carmella.

Natalie ran the ropes and nailed Becky with a headscissors takedown. She saw Carmella sitting up, so Natalie came from behind and executed a neck snap. She hurriedly lifted the Princess Of Staten Island and threw her over the top rope. Natalie was successful this time and the crowd cheered as it was just left down to her and Becky.

Natalie put her focus on a groggy Becky and went ahead in an attempt to eliminate the Irish Lasskicker. Becky was having none of it and tried suplexing Natalie on the floor. While, Natalie didn't go on the floor, she did land both feet on the apron. The two combatants fought left and right with each other, the two women almost slipping off the apron a couple of times.

Becky tried a risky move and tried for a Bexplex onto Natalie from the apron onto the floor, but Natalie fought of the move somehow and landed a Sweet Chin Music out of nowhere and Becky fell from the apron onto the floor.

The crowd cheered as the bell rang and 'I Am The Fire' blared through the speakers for the winner. Natalie got back into the ring and smiled with enthusiasm as the referee raised her hand in victory.

"Here is your winner and the new number one contender for the Smackdown women's championship: Natalie Michaels."

"Natalie is going to Wrestlemania!" Tom Phillips exclaimed.

"My pick won the battle royal! Natalie is going to Wrestlemania!" Byron Saxton enthusiastically stated.

"Natalie Michaels has her ticket to Wrestlemania," Corey Graves said. "You could be looking at a woman who could win the Smackdown women's championship on the grandest stage of them all."

Natalie climbed onto the turnbuckle, celebrating with the WWE Universe. She did the motion where she was going to be the next person to have the title around her waist and the crowd clapped at the motion.

She exited the ring, slapping hands with fans as she made her way up the ramp and headed towards the backstage area.

* * *

The blonde walked through the curtain backstage and saw that the producers were clapping. She shook hands with all of them including Vince. Hunter proceeded to come over and he hugged her. "Great job out there. I'm proud of you."

"Thanks. It's surreal knowing that I have a shot at the women's title at Wrestlemania."

"Remember, Asuka is going to go out there after Charlotte beats Ruby. A triple threat between you three ladies is going to be a definite show stealer at Wrestlemania."

"I like the storyline that creative has for us. It's nothing flashy, but it's going to show the spirit of competition between Charlotte, Asuka, and I."

Hunter nodded. "You're going to be the underdog heading into the match."

"I understand that concept. I think it's fitting for my character to be like that. I don't have the powerful presence like Charlotte or the mysterious aura like Asuka. I'm just Natalie Michaels."

"Natalie Michaels has heart and passion," Hunter assured. "You're so passionate about what you do and that's going to transcend into your character onscreen."

"Thanks. I'm excited to see what's planned for us leading up to Wrestlemania."

"You have an interview you're going to be doing for dot com during part of AJ's match."

"Even though I want to catch all of AJ's match, I have to do what I have to do." She shrugged her shoulders. "I'll be able to catch part of it though, right?"

The Game laughed. "I think so. You're really crazy about the guy, huh?"

"It drives me insane," Natalie laughed. "I will say in confidence, the other reason I was fighting my feelings for him is because of our age difference. I was afraid I was too immature and too young for him."

"I have a couple of years on Steph. You love who you love and I think you found someone who suits you."

"Thanks, Hunter."

"You're welcome." He gave her one more hug. "Speaking of the devil, you have someone Phenomenal awaiting you," he whispered in her ear.

* * *

She turned around smiled radiantly at the WWE champion. She walked up to him, not able to contain the butterflies in her stomach. "Hey!"

"Hey. Congratulations on your victory, I am proud of you."

She felt her heart flutter. "Thank you."

"Why don't we go to my locker room and hang out for a bit? I haven't seen you at all since we arrived to the arena."

"Sure." She looped her arm through his and they walked alongside each other to his locker room. He let her in first and as soon as he followed in behind her, he grabbed her and pushed her against the door gently, kissing her as long and gentle as he could muster. Natalie opened her eyes, her head slightly spinning and her lips tingling. "What was that for?"

"Think of it as a congrats and I missed you smooch."

"I can accept that," Natalie smiled. She went to sit on the chair in front of his lockers and he took the seat perpendicular to her. "You really know how to make a girl feel congratulated and missed."

"I try my best."

"On a serious note, can I ask you something?" Natalie was thinking about the previous conversation she had with Hunter. She wanted another opinion from her boyfriend.

"You know you can ask me anything. What's going through your mind?"

"Hunter and I were briefly talking after my match and I had mentioned to him that I didn't have the powerful presence of Charlotte or the mysterious aura of Asuka. What could I possibly bring to the table at Mania?"

AJ knew that the insecurities of his girlfriend were settling in. She had no reason to feel insecure. But, he knew she had her moments and he was there to assure her that there was nothing for her to be insecure about. "You bring the drive, determination, spirit, passion... Babe, I could go on as to what you bring to the table."

"I have nothing to worry about, do I?" Natalie wondered. "I'm just getting inside my own head."

"It happens to the best of us. But, you don't have anything to worry about," The WWE champion assured. "I think you make a great addition to the triple threat match." AJ noticed that Natalie was looking at him like she was enchanted by him. "What's with the look?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about something. You are freaking amazing." That something she was thinking about was when Hunter said that AJ suited her well. She had to thank her lucky stars everyday for the Phenomenal One being an important part of her life.

"I don't know about all that now."

"Okay, you're freaking Phenomenal," Natalie joked.

"That sounds more like it."

* * *

Natalie high-fived the WWE champion before he disappeared through the curtain in front of the fifteen thousand members of the WWE Universe. She was still in her ring attire and was now getting ready to do her interview for dot com.

Dasha Fuentes caught up with Natalie. "Natalie, we saw earlier tonight that you are the number one contender for the Smackdown women's championship. But, after Charlotte retained the title against Ruby Riott, Asuka came out and seemingly challenged for the Smackdown women's championship. Can I get your thoughts on that?"

"Yes, Asuka did come out and challenge for the Smackdown women's championship. That is what seemed to have occurred. I just hope that Shane and Daniel take my victory into consideration and don't forget about me."

"Do you think there could be a potential triple threat match?"

"That's a good question, Dasha. I honestly don't know. Asuka did win the women's Royal Rumble fair and square and she has every right to challenge who she wants. But, Shane and Daniel made this match because they needed a definite number one contender heading into Wrestlemania. Asuka decided to wait to seemingly make her challenge. So, I just hope Shane and Daniel take all these things into context."

"By the way, congratulations on your victory."

"Thank you, Dasha." Natalie smiled at the interviewer and walked towards the women's locker room.

Now, she could finally relinquish her Natalie Michaels onscreen character and go back to being Natalie Michaels the person for the rest of the night. She wanted to catch the rest of the WWE championship match.

* * *

"You ready to go?" Natalie questioned her best friend and boyfriend. "I am exhausted."

"Maybe you'll be the first one to be asleep," AJ teased.

"That would be a nice change."

"It's now officially Mania season, so we better get rested up now while we can," Carmella said. "The next couple of weeks are going to be excruciatingly busy."

"I'm ready for it though," Natalie said. "The busy schedule can bring it on."

"Come on, you two, I am ready to go to bed," AJ stated. "And, I am driving."

"I'll be up with you. I have my fuel." Natalie showed AJ her redbull. "This will be keep me up long enough to stay up with you for the trip."

The trio walked out of the Nationwide Arena. Wrestlemania season was officially in effect.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_ Thanks for reading. I hope you all enjoyed it.**


	18. One Step At A Time

**_A/N:_ Thank you for the follow, favorites, and reviews on this story. I am thankful for all of it. This chapter isn't anything special -it's more of a filler- but, there is some importance to this chapter. Hope you all enjoy.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I only own Natalie Michaels. I do not own any WWE Superstar that is mentioned throughout the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Eighteen: One Step At A Time

* * *

"Mella, I have a question for you. It's just an idea that's been running through my head lately and I want to get your thoughts."

Carmella looked up from her phone to look at her best friend. "Okay, Sweetie. Shoot."

"I know we have been looking at bigger houses lately... and I was just wondering, would you be okay with AJ possibly moving into the house too?" Natalie and Carmella had been looking at potential new houses recently. Since the best friends were wanting something bigger and AJ had been staying at their condo more often than his own house, the thought crossed her mind about him moving in with them. She was ready for that next step, but she wanted to get Carmella's thoughts on it since Carmella had a big intake on this new potential purchase. So of course, Natalie wanted to respect Carmella's thoughts.

"There's going to be more than enough room in whatever house we choose to buy. I am most certainly okay with it."

"Alright. I was just making sure. I respect your decision."

Carmella smiled. "I appreciate that. But, AJ stays here quite often, so I don't see any reason why he can't move in with us."

"Awesome!" Natalie clapped her hands together in excitement. "I know we're planning on buying a big house and it's going to work out marvelously because AJ has this big game room at his house and I want him to be able to have that much space. And, I want you to have as much space as you want too."

"Don't worry, we are going to find a house big enough," Carmella assured. "Have you approached AJ with this idea of yours?"

"No. I was wanting to get your thoughts on the situation before I even had the idea of approaching him."

"Maybe you could give him a key to the condo as some sort of gift?"

"That's a good idea. I like that."

"Does he have any clue that you and I are looking for a bigger house?" Carmella wondered.

"Not yet," Natalie laughed. "Everytime I've talked to him, we've been talking about anything Wrestlemania related. I won't see him again until we arrive in New Orleans."

"You know... you could always call him and put a bug in his ear?" The Princess Of Staten Island suggested.

"I guess I could do that. When we do arrive in New Orleans, we are going to be so busy with all the Wrestlemania festivities, there won't be much time to talk to him about that. So, I guess now would be the best time to talk to him about it."

"You better pick up that phone and call him, honey."

Natalie laughed and rolled her eyes. "Gee, you're so bossy." She grabbed her phone and headed upstairs to her room to call the WWE champion.

* * *

There was an immediate answer on the other end. "Hey, Sweet Stuff."

Natalie smiled at his nickname for her. "Hey, Handsome. What are you doing?"

"I'm getting everything ready for Wrestlemania. What are you doing?"

"Carmella and I are packing up our belongings too, but we decided to take a break."

"I'm honored that you're spending your break time talking to me."

Natalie smiled. "Of course. I honestly forgot how much time and effort it took to pack up for Wrestlemania and all the festivities."

"I've spent almost all day making sure that I have everything that I need."

"You have underwear?"

"Check."

"You have socks and shoes?"

"Check."

"You have enough regular clothes?"

"Check."

"You have your suit for the Hall Of Fame?"

"Yes."

"You have your wrestling gear and the WWE title?"

"Yep."

"You have your travel toothbrush, toothpaste, shampoo, conditioner, soap, deodorant? I can't have you stinky."

"I have all of that," AJ answered. "Would you still be seen with me if I forgot any of that and was stinky?"

"I don't know, that's a loaded question."

"And here I thought you loved me because I was such an amazing guy?"

"That's incorrect. I love you because you're a Phenomenal guy."

"Glad we got that straight."

"Seriously though, I would never be embarrassed to be seen with you; even if you were stinky."

The Phenomenal One laughed. "That's good to know. I'll keep that in mind."

"I wanted to discuss something with you." Natalie changed the subject. It was now time to talk about the moving in situation.

"Okay, Babe. Is everything okay?"

"Oh, yes. Everything is more than okay."

"What's going through your mind then?"

"So, Carmella and I have been looking at different houses as of late."

"There's nothing wrong with that. If you want a different house, then go for it. You and her work hard; if you want something nice, then you should get it."

Natalie sighed. Her nerves were getting the best of her. She had knots forming in her stomach the size of Eagles. "I was wondering though... you stay at our condo pretty often, so I was ummm...I was wondering if you would want to move into this potential new bigger house?"

"That doesn't sound like a bad idea. I stay at your condo more than my house, so what the heck? I'll do it."

Natalie's eyes lit up. "Really, you'll move in?"

"Yes. But, since I'm moving in; you, Carmella, and I all need to sit down and pick out a house together. I want to make the investment with you and her."

"But, why?"

"Well, since I'm going to be living in this bigger house, it would make sense for me to pay bills too. It's not fair for you and Carmella to pay for everything."

"So, this is really happening?"

"Yep, it's really happening," The WWE champion answered. "How about we save the house hunting for after Wrestlemania?"

"Is it okay if Carmella and I just look? She's been looking for the last week."

"That's acceptable," AJ chuckled. "Just please don't make any purchases without me present."

"You got it, Dude."

"Glad we got that settled," The WWE champion laughed. "I am going to go now because I am going to grab a quick bite to eat and head out the gym before I settle down for the night. I'll call you when I get back and get settled, capiche?"

"Capiche. Talk to you soon."

"Alright, Sweet Stuff. Talk to you soon. Love ya."

"Love you too."

Natalie laid down on her bed and put her head in her hands. It was official, her boyfriend would be living under the same roof as her, soon down the road. Her heart started palpating, but she couldn't contain the smile that was forming on her face.

* * *

Natalie walked down the stairs and plopped back down on the couch beside her best friend. "Okay."

"So, how did the conversation go?"

"It went great. He's taken to the idea of moving in."

"That's great!" Carmella exclaimed. "Having AJ live with us would be a nice addition."

"Yes it would be," Natalie agreed. "There's one thing that we can't do."

The Princess Of Staten Island furrowed her eyebrows. "What would that be?"

"We can't make any house purchases. We can look all we want though. AJ said that he wanted to partake in the new house investments."

"Really?" Carmella asked. "You really do have yourself a good one, Natalie."

"You don't have to remind me," Natalie smiled. "Sometime after Wrestlemania, the three of us can sit down and come to terms on finding a house."

"Sounds good to me, but I am still going to be looking though."

Natalie laughed. "That's fine. Remember, I want to try to stay near Mom."

"I have filters set up to help narrow down the searches. No worries."

"Cool. I am going to finish packing for Wrestlemania and the Wrestlemania festivities."

Natalie went back upstairs to finish her packing. First, packing for Wrestlemania. Second, Wrestlemania festivities. Lastly, house hunting with her best friend and boyfriend.

One step at a time.

* * *

 ** _A/N:_ Thank you for reading. Hope you all enjoy this chapter.**


	19. Walls Of The Hall Of Fame

**_A/N:_ Thank you for the follow, favorites, and reviews on this story. I am so appreciative for all the love. There is only one more chapter left to this story. It's all surreal to me. There will be more AJ and Natalie. I have two more stories with these two planned. There is more to come on that. Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I only own Natalie Michaels. I do not own any WWE Superstar that is mentioned throughout the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Nineteen: Walls Of The Hall Of Fame

* * *

"You look very classy for the Superstars for Hope event, Honey," Carmella complimented. Carmella and Natalie had a Superstars For Hope event they were scheduled to attend. The event helps raise money for charities.

Natalie was wearing a white mixed media top tucked into a hi-low maxi skirt and black platform heels. Her newly styled blonde ombre hair was up pinned up on two sides and curled on the bottom. She had gotten her hair done before any of the Wrestlemania events happened. She wanted to look different and refreshed for the festivities. Her hair was honey blonde until they met the ends of her hair, where they were a white blonde. She also gotten it cut too. Her hair went from the top of her butt to the top of her breasts; she'd gotten a good amount of hair cut off.

She had a simple makeup look with light brown eyeshadow and winged eyeliner. Her red lips completed her look and added a little boldness.

"Thanks." Natalie admired her best friend's look for the night. Carmella was looking exquisite. "You look gorgeous, Babes."

The Princess Of Staten Island had on a maxi green sequined dress with a slit going up her left leg that finished at her left thigh. Her long blonde hair was in it's natural waves and her makeup was done with a simple smokey eye and nude lip gloss. She had black platform sandals on her feet and she added a some silver dangling earrings for some more pzazz to her already exquisite and glimmering look for the evening.

"Awe, you're the sweetest!" Carmella gushed. "Thank you."

"You ready for this event? I think it'll be fun and inspiring."

"Yes! I am ready. It's going to be a fun time for sure."

Natalie grabbed her's and Carmella's matching little Chanel purses from the entertainment center in their motel room and proceeded to hand Carmella hers. Carmella thanked Natalie with a smile. "You ready to go?"

"Yep! I am all ready to go." Carmella grabbed her phone out of her mini purse. "But, first, let's take a selfie." The two posed for a selfie and Carmella snapped a picture.

"Let's blow this joint," Natalie said. She opened the door to the motel room -letting Carmella walk out first- and followed Carmella out as the two proceeded to head to the Superstars For Hope charity event.

* * *

AJ was waiting out in the motel lobby with Seth, Finn, Karl, Luke, Roman, Dean(he was out on injury, but he made it to New Orleans for some appearances for Wrestlemania weekend), Jimmy and Jey, Sheamus, Cesaro, and Miz. Quite the interesting group of men. The men met up with one another in the lobby- waiting for their dates and for the bus to take them to the arena for the Hall Of Fame- and were talking about mundane topics to pass the time.

Natalie had arranged for some of the women to get ready in her's and Carmella's motel room. Renee, Charly, Cathy, and Kayla had gotten ready in their room, but they had to head out early because they were going interviews for the Hall Of Fame red carpet. Dean and Finn would meet up with their respective ladies: Renee and Cathy, at the arena. But, they were just waiting the guys until that point.

The elevator opened and out came some of the women. They were turning heads with their gorgeous looks for the Hall Of Fame. All of the men had met up with their respective ladies. AJ and Seth were waiting for the arrival of their women though. The elevator opened again and out came Carmella looking stunning in a long flowing orange sequined halter dress. Her hair was pinned up, showing off all the features on her beautiful face. Seth looked at his Hall Of Fame date with amazement. She looked absolutely stunning.

"You look stunning," Seth stated. He wrapped his arm around Carmella's waist.

"Thanks," Carmella blushed, even though she had a beaming smile on her face. "You look very handsome in your suit. I know you already know this, but black is definitely your color." The Architect was looking handsome in his all black suit, his beard neatly trimmed, and a bun at the nape of his neck. Miss Money In The Bank looked over at AJ and noticed a frown on The Phenomenal One's face as he saw there was no Natalie. "AJ, Natalie is coming. She was too busy helping everyone else get ready, so she got ready last. She should be on the way down in a moment."

The WWE champion nodded. "Thanks, Carmella. By the way, you do look stunning." Carmella nodded her thanks. His darted his blue eyes back towards the elevators and the doors opened revealing his date.

She was appearing elegant as she walked towards their way. She was wearing a black halter lace mermaid skirt gown sprinkled with delicate jewels and had a full coverage racer-back. Her hair was pinned back on her right side with a jewelled flower barrette. She was wearing gold eyeshadow that made her blue-green eyes pop and her lips were covered in red wine colored matte lipstick. She smiled in her date's direction.

He was looking so handsome to her in his gold suit jacket with black dress shirt underneath and matching gold dress pants. He was looking ostentatious for the evening; that was for sure. She finally approached him and wrapped her arms around his waist. "Don't you just look phenomenally handsome?"

"Thank you." The WWE champion tilted his down and placed a chaste kiss to her lips, not wanting to ruin her lipstick and not wanting to make his lips a red wine color. "You look gorgeous, Sweet Stuff."

"Thanks," Natalie smiled. "I was in a rush to get ready, so I could just hope that I looked okay." She looked around her and saw all the men and women in the lobby looking at her with pure awe. "I'm guessing by the looks on everyone faces, that I at least look somewhat decent?"

"Michaels, cut the crap. You know you look good!" Seth teased. He had his arm around Carmella and she nodded her head in agreement, not taking offense to what her date was saying to her best friend. She knew that Seth was complimenting Natalie with pure platonic emotions.

"Damn, Natalie, you really are looking great," The Lunatic Fringe stated. "Styles is one lucky Dude."

Natalie laughed and looked up at her boyfriend; he was looking at her some of kind of way and it was making her heart palpate so quickly. "Stop looking at me like that!" She blushed and hid her head on his chest.

She could feel his chest rumble. It seems as if he was laughing. She moved her head to look back up at him and he had a huge amusing smile on his handsome face. "I can't help it! You look gorgeous. I can't help but look at you."

The bus had finally arrived and the men and women walked in a formation line out to the bus. AJ extended his arm out to Natalie. "Shall we?"

She smiled. "We shall." She happily looped her arm through his. The couple were in the back of the line and followed the rest of the group outside to get loaded on the bus.

* * *

The red carpet special was airing before the WWE Hall of Fame. It was an hour pre-show that saw some of the elite WWE Superstars arrive in their finest attire. Charly Caruso had just finished interviewing Matt Hardy and his wife, Reby before turning it over to Byron Saxton and Maria Menunos who were standing alongside AJ Styles and Natalie Michaels. The WWE champion was standing in-between Byron and Maria and Natalie was standing on the left of Maria.

"I feel like we're the lucky ones because we are standing with the reigning and defending WWE champion and one half of the dream match equation at Wrestlemania: The Phenomenal, AJ Styles," Byron Saxton said, introducing one half of the couple on the carpet being interviewed at this moment.

The Phenomenal One smiled. "It's going to be a good one, Man. And, we're excited."

Byron smiled and nodded. "And, I see you brought the lovely Natalie Michaels with you, who will be competing for the Smackdown women's championship in a triple threat match against Charlotte Flair and Asuka."

"I did." The WWE champion looked in the direction of his date and smiled. "Let me just say: she is your next Smackdown women's champion."

"Is that a prediction?" Byron wondered.

"Byron, that is a spoiler," Natalie joked, impersonating Paul Heyman. Byron, Maria, and AJ laughed at her answer.

"When you enter the Hall of Fame and when you see all the pageantry and celebratory atmosphere of it all... what does it mean to you?" Byron questioned the Phenomenal One.

"Uh, this is where we get to dress up, bring our dates..." he motioned to Natalie. "...and have a good time with fans. And, uh, yeah, it's just a special time for everyone."

"Is there anyone you're looking forward to being inducted in the Hall of Fame?" Maria asked Natalie.

"The whole entire class," Natalie answered. "But, I would have to say I am looking the most forward to seeing if the Dudley Boyz put anyone through a table. I am also hoping that Jeff Jarrett sings 'Be My Baby Tonight'."

AJ nodded his approval. "Jeff Jarrett is a good one. Jeff Jarrett and I go way back, so this is a special one for me and for him, obviously."

Byron smiled at AJ's answer. "Well, why don't we talk about the dream match at Wrestlemania: you versus Shinsuke Nakamura? When we're at Wrestlemania, we see fans from all over the world; what kind of excitement have you personally seen from our fanbase regarding this match?"

"Best fans in the world, no doubt, right?" The WWE champion's question was rhetorical. "I mean, they're from all over the world. So, obviously they're the best, but they're probably looking forward to the match just as much as myself and Shinsuke are." AJ then looked at Natalie and winked. "Actually, I think that Natalie might the most excited for that match. She's been talking nonstop about it." Natalie laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "But, nonetheless, this will be a match people won't forget."

"Natalie, you are competing in a huge women's triple threat match at Wrestlemania. A lot of people are saying that this match has the potential to steal the show. What are your thoughts heading into this high stakes women's match at Wrestlemania?" Maria interrogated.

"Charlotte Flair has this powerful presence about her. She is one of the best pure athletes not only in the women's division, but of all time. And, Asuka is undefeated. She has this mysterious aura about her. Competing against these two amazing ladies will certainly be a tough task and won't be a cakewalk, but I am going to do everything in my power to make sure that the fans are provided with a match and moments that people will talk about for years to come."

"I believe that you three ladies will tear the house down," Maria assured. "I am looking forward to that match."

"Thanks," Natalie smiled.

"AJ, Natalie, are you two nervous as we get closer to the grandest stage of them all?" Byron wondered.

"I mean, I am nervous, but at the same time, I'm like, it's time to go to work. I'll ravel in all the excitement and emotions after the match is over," The WWE champion answered his part of the question.

"I am extremely ecstatic, but I am also nervous. I am going into battle with two of the best women's wrestlers in the world. But, I know they are going to push me to be my best. I am looking forward to creating magic with Charlotte and Asuka," Natalie answered her part of the question.

"AJ, you are one of the select few to head into Wrestlemania to defend the WWE championship."

AJ looked stunned by Byron's information. He didn't know he was an elite group of men who had the honor of defending the WWE title on the grandest stage of them all. "Wow! I didn't know that."

Natalie raised her hand. "I knew that!"

The Phenomenal One rolled his eyes. "Of course you did." He smiled at his girlfriend who reciprocated his smile with one of her own. "Anyways, it's an honor to be in that elite group."

Natalie looked around as she heard the crowd cheer hers and AJ's name. She looked at AJ with complete awe on her face. It was amazing to have their names being chanted. AJ merely smiled at her as he walked to her and placed his arm around her waist.

"Good luck to you two. Have a good rest of your night." Byron shook hands with AJ and Natalie.

"Good luck at Wrestlemania in your respective matches." AJ and Natalie shook hands with Maria before the couple excited the stage to get situated in their seats for the Hall of Fame.

* * *

The WWE champion watched from the curtain as Natalie, Carmella, Charlotte, Alexa, Sasha, Naomi, and Asuka were in the ring at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome about to reveal the Wrestlemania 34 stage setup. He watched on with pride as his girlfriend and the women he has the pleasure of knowing were all reveling in the excitement about Wrestlemania. He was happy for their success and he knew the women would tear the house down at Wrestlemania. He was ultimately proud of Natalie and how hard she worked to get back on track. She seemed to have found her groove.

He watched as the women did their part for the reveal. He smiled as Natalie started if off. She had that radiating smile. "Hey there, WWE Universe." Her part was so simple, but she did it with such grace.

"Last Wrestlemania in New Orleans was the first Wrestlemania on the WWE Network," Charlotte said.

"And this year, Wrestlemania is free for new subscribers and you are invited!" Carmella exclaimed. She pointed to the camera for the reference on the word 'you' referring to the WWE Universe.

"From Bourbon Street to right here at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, WWE is going to make Wrestlemania and New Orleans feel the glow," Naomi said.

"And it's a glow worthy of a Goddess and now, let's give you the very first glimpse," Alexa said.

"So, WWE Universe, only one question remains," Sasha stated.

"Who's ready for Wrestlemania?!" Asuka wondered.

The ladies pointed at the stage as Kid Rock's 'Celebrate' echoed through the speakers and fireworks blared as the Wrestlemania 34 stage was revealed. It was like a party.

Natalie and Carmella walked up the stage, a cameraman on them for WWE dot com. "Carmella and I might not see eye to eye at times, but she is going to be fabulous in the women's battle royal."

"I am looking forward to cashing in Frankie on Natalie in the near future," Carmella said, throwing a wink in Natalie's direction.

Natalie walked through the curtain first and the first thing she noticed was AJ too sweet gesturing her. "That was incredible."

"Thanks," Natalie smiled. "I am so ready for bed. We have to be up early in the morning."

"We better head out of here then." The WWE champion wrapped his arm around Natalie's shoulders. "Rollins is around here somewhere. He said he wanted to check out the place. We'll just wait on him and then we'll walk you and Carmella to your room."

"Sounds like a plan. I'm hoping I can get some good sleep before the big show." Natalie felt her insides turn into knots as it started to come to fruition within her mind that Wrestlemania was less than twenty-four hours away.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **Thank you so much for reading! Hope you enjoy!**


	20. Oh, My Champion

**_A/N:_ This is the final chapter. It is so surreal to even type that. But, I have been working on it since October 2017. This story is my Baby. I hope everyone enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I love AJ so much and Natalie is near and dear to my heart. Thank you for the follow, favorites, and reviews on this story. I am so grateful.**

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ **I only own Natalie Michaels. I do not own any WWE Superstar that is mentioned throughout the story.**

* * *

 **ENTITLED TO OVERCOME  
** Chapter Twenty: Oh, My Champion

* * *

Natalie walked through the Mercedes-Benz stadium, feeling excited yet overwhelmed by the mere fact that it was Wrestlemania. She greeted everyone that she passed by as she was heading in the direction of the stage. She wanted to get another glimpse of the stage before everyone got busy with their Wrestlemania things. She had to rehearse her entrance in the afternoon because she had a special entrance planned for Wrestlemania. She was undoubtedly excited to share with everyone watching what epic entrance she has.

She got out her phone and went live on Instagram. With her ombre blonde hair unstyled and her face makeup free; she was definitely showing the world Pre-Wrestlemania Natalie Michaels. She would be looking way different for the biggest show of the year. "Guys, this is it! I am here at the grandest stage of them all. I can't even put into words how I am feeling right now. I just want to thank all of you fans for being a huge part of this. I hope I can repay you all by giving you a memorable performance tonight. Sorry to cut it short, but it's going to be an extremely busy day. Love you all and thanks for joining me live."

She took a seat in one of the empty chairs near the ramp and she was shortly joined by someone she knew all too well. "How are you feeling, Nugget?" She was asked in a deep and raspy voice.

Natalie turned her head and saw Shawn occupying the seat beside her. "I can't even begin to explain how I am feeling right now."

"Ten years ago I fought Ric at Wrestlemania 24 and now, ten years later, you and Charlotte are going to be battling in the same match."

Natalie smiled. "It's very funny how the world works."

"I just wanted to let you know that I am extremely proud of you," Shawn praised. "I know I was hard on you when you were training to get back in the ring, but it's only because I wanted you to come back and be better than ever and I can honestly say that is the case. You're looking better in the ring than you were before your injury and you were already incredible then."

"Thanks. That honestly means the world to me," Natalie smiled. "You taught me a lot and I am trying to take what you teach me and incorporate it."

"I am not the only one who has taught you a lot. That boyfriend of yours has taught you a lot too."

"Yes he has," Natalie agreed. "I owe the credit to the two most important men in my life."

"I was so hesitant to have you date someone in the business," The Heartbreak Kid laughed. "But, I am glad that AJ convinced me to let him have a chance. He clearly cares about you and has the best intentions and I couldn't ask for anything better."

"Thanks, Dad. I love him."

Shawn smiled. "I know you do and it's clear to me he feels the same way."

"I hope so," Natalie giggled. "I appreciate you being there every step of the way for me."

"It's my honor." Shawn got up from his seat. "Well, I guess I better do something. I'll see around, Nugget."

"I'll be here." She got up from her seat and enveloped her Dad in a hug.

As Shawn was leaving, AJ was approaching. So, Shawn and AJ shared a handshake and a cordial greeting with one another before the WWE champion occupied the seat that was taken by The Heartbreak Kid just prior.

"Hey, Gorgeous." He kissed her cheek.

"Hi."

"Whatcha up to?"

"Soaking in the Wrestlemania atmosphere."

* * *

Lzzy Hale and her band, Halestorm, made their presence on the stage. The beginning guitar verse of 'I Am The Fire' echoed throughout the Mercedes-Benz Stadium and the crowd cheered. They knew who they song was associated with. Natalie Michaels appeared before the tens of thousands of the WWE Universe. She was looking like a superstar on the grandest stage of them all.

Her ombre blonde hair was curled to perfection. She had midnight sparkly blue eyeshadow that did her blue-green eyes justice and matching midnight blue shimmering lipgloss on her lips. It matched her new attire she had made for the grandest stage of them all. She was wearing a sparkling and shimmering midnight blue bra with matching sparkling and shimmering midnight blue shorts. A blue jeweled choker was an accessory added to complete her ostentatious ring attire.

When Lzzy sang out, "I Am The Fire, I Am Burning Brighter" Natalie raised her arms up and blue flames appeared from the stage, It added an awesome sequence to her amazing Wrestlemania entrance. The crowd watched in awe and Natalie made her way down the ring. The further she walked down the ramp, the less nervous she was and the more confident she became. There was an extra pep in her step.

"Here comes Natalie Michaels, she appears to be confident," Tom Phillips said.

"People view Natalie as the underdog in this triple threat match, but I have a feeling that Natalie will become the Smackdown women's champion," Byron Saxton stated.

"Natalie is definitely the underdog, but I know she will put up a fight," Corey Graves said. "How cool is it that Halestorm is performing Natalie's theme song on the grandest stage of them all? That has to pump up Natalie."

She entered the ring and pumped up the WWE Universe as Lzzy Hale and Halestorm were finishing up her song. The fans cheered as her entrance was complete.

Natalie leaned against the ropes and waited for her two adversaries to make their way to the ring.

* * *

The Phenomenal One and The Heartbreak Kid were watching the triple threat match in AJ's locker room. AJ had extended an invitation for Shawn to watch Natalie's match in his locker room. Shawn accepted the kind invitation, so here he was watching his daughter's match alongside his daughter's boyfriend.

AJ and Shawn winced as Asuka leaned Natalie over the barricade and stiffly kneed Natalie in the head a couple of times. Natalie sold the move by flipping over the barricade and landing on the outside floor. Asuka then laid Natalie against the barricade and landed a running knee. John Cena -who was in the audience- looked amazed by how rough the women were being in this match.

"My girl can certainly sell can't she?" Shawn praised.

"There's no doubt that she's a good seller," AJ agreed. "She made those Asuka knees look brutal. Knowing how Natalie is though, she probably wanted Asuka to be as stiff as she could be without concussing her."

Shawn laughed. "That's true. Natalie never wants her opponents to take it easy on her."

"Cena seemed taken aback by the stiff knees," AJ pointed out. "He shouldn't be surprised though. These are the three of the best women wrestlers in the world."

"You're right."

It was now Asuka and Charlotte in the ring and they were doing their own thing for awhile since Natalie was temporarily taken out of the equation by Asuka. Charlotte and Asuka were trading punches and submission moves with one another.

Asuka had landed a picture perfect suplex on Charlotte from off the ring apron. The crowd cheered at the spot. They started cheering louder as Natalie finally regained her composure and got inside the ring. Charlotte and Asuka were slowly getting up after both of the women had the wind knocked out of them after the suplex spot. Natalie looked at the crowd and they started cheering her on. She ran and jumped over the top rope, landing a picture perfect corkscrew moonsault plancha onto both women. The audience was stunned, but they clapped in admiration.

AJ and Shawn were just as stunned as the WWE Universe was with the move that Natalie just performed. Natalie had told the both of them that she'd been training extra hard for this match and they could see with their own eyes she certainly did just that.

"Looks like Natalie just stole the show," AJ laughed.

"She's a Michaels," Shawn simply responded. "I'm sure she's going to follow in my footsteps and become Miss Wrestlemania."

"I can see that happening," The WWE champion agreed. "She has so much ability inside that ring. This is a good platform for her to showcase her skills."

Natalie, Charlotte, and Asuka valiantly got back in the ring and the women started trading blows with one another. Asuka landed a sweep on Charlotte and Natalie followed up by nailing Asuka in the face with a spinning roundhouse kick. Asuka became woozy, but her and Natalie fought to the corner. With Natalie kneeled against the corner, Asuka once again landed a devastating knee onto Natalie. Natalie sold the move and plopped face first onto the mat. Asuka climbed the top rope, but Charlotte nailed her in the face with a big boot. Asuka plopped her butt onto the top turnbuckle. Charlotte climbed up the ropes and landed a beautiful spanish fly onto Asuka.

Both women were down, so Natalie seized the opportunity and once again tried going to high risk. She succeeded as she landed a shooting star press onto both women. She went for the pin onto Asuka, but Asuka kicked out at two and half.

Charlotte came out of nowhere and nailed Natalie with the Natural selection. The Queen then targeted the Empress again and the two competitors traded blows with one another once again. Charlotte managed to lock Asuka in the figure eight, but before Charlotte could do her back bend as she was still sitting up, she was nailed in the face with a Sweet Chin Music courtesy of Natalie Michaels. With Charlotte and Asuka's legs still entwined with one another, Natalie smartly went for the cover on the Smackdown women's champion since she was still out from the Sweet Chin Music just delivered.

The referee counted to three and the crowd popped as Natalie's theme music hit. Natalie sat there, shocked by the events. She just really won the match and is now the reigning Smackdown women's champion. "Here is your winner and the new Smackdown women's champion: NATALIE MICHAELS!" Natalie excitedly took the title and held it in the air, with the referee raising her hand. She was soaking in the adulation of the crowd. This Wrestlemania moment was much better than last year when she got injured.

AJ and Shawn were cheering in AJ's locker room. "That announcement is like music to my ears," Shawn said.

"It's a wonderful announcement," AJ smiled. "Our girl is the new champion."

"Too sweet me." Shawn gestured AJ with the too sweet and the WWE champion reciprocated it. "This is one of the greatest moments of my life. My first born is a champion. I am so proud of her."

"I'm proud of her too. She has worked too hard for this moment."

"She has worked hard," The Heartbreak Kid agreed. He then looked over to his male counterpart seriously, putting a hand on his shoulder. "AJ, I just want to let you know that I am happy that Natalie has you in her life. You're a pretty upstanding guy."

"I really appreciate that. I'm glad that you gave me a chance with your daughter. She's really special."

Shawn smiled. "She really is special." He patted AJ on the shoulder. "We better go congratulate our new champion." With that said, the WWE Hall Of Famer and the WWE champion exited the WWE champion's locker room in pursuit of the new Smackdown women's champion.

* * *

The new Smackdown women's champion entered the gorilla, her face full of emotion. Thank goodness she was wearing waterproof eyeliner and mascara because she cried so much in the ring. Everyone was clapping for her. She went around the table and hugged Vince. "Thank you so much for the opportunity."

"That was an impressive match out there. You killed it."

"Thanks," Natalie smiled.

The new Intercontinental champion, Seth Rollins enveloped her in a hug as she made her way back to the main part of the gorilla. "Congratulations, champ."

"I should say the same thing to you," Natalie smiled. "Congratulations."

"Once you change your clothes and quit being stinky, we should get a picture together."

The blonde swatted her friend's chest. "You're such a little punk. But, yes, we should get a picture together."

Next, Natalie was being hugged by her best friend in the entire universe. "Honey, I am so proud of you! You did fabulous in the match." Carmella felt so genuinely happy for her best friend. Seeing her best friend so happy made her happy. In her opinion, Natalie deserved the world.

"Thanks, Mella. I hope I have the honor of defending this title against you."

"That would be amazing!"

"I agree," Natalie smiled.

"Well, there's more people who want to congratulate the champ. I'll see you later." Carmella gave Natalie another hug before walking away with the new Intercontinental Champion.

Natalie saw her Dad, who seemed to have a proud look on his face. His arms were extended out to her. She ran to him and accepted his embrace. "Congratulations, Nugget. You deserve this and I am so proud of you."

"Thank you."

"Of course. I get to say my oldest daughter is the women's champion."

"Yes! Instead of me being known as Shawn Michaels' daughter, you can be known as the Father of the Smackdown women's champion."

"I will accept that with pride."

Natalie smiled. "I love you. You're awesome."

"I love you too, Nugget." He gave her one more hug. "I don't want to hog your time, so there's some more stuff that I need to get done around here." He gently squeezed her shoulder before walking away.

Walking just a little bit further, she saw her boyfriend leaning against the wall at the end of the gorilla. "Congratulations, Michaels. That victory was too sweet." He gave her the too sweet gesture.

"Thanks, Styles." Feeling high off the adrenaline, she walked up closer to him and put her free arm around his neck before placing her lips onto his. People around them were whistling and clapping. She laughed and wiped some of the blue lipgloss off his lips. "Sorry, didn't mean to give you blue lips."

"It's totally fine, Babe. It matches the blue in my attire."

"That's true." She then took full notice of his attire and she loved the blue and silver attire he had going for him for the night. "I love this attire. You look hot."

"I try my best." He tucked some hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek. "You look pretty good tonight too, Sweet Stuff."

Natalie stared up at him lovingly. Gosh, she found herself to be so in love.

* * *

Natalie was now dressed in a dress with a black lace bodice connected to a short pink tulle skirt and black heels on her feet. There was going to be a Wrestlemania afterparty and she was feeling in the mood to party. All of her ostentatious midnight blue makeup was off and she now had a simple makeup look going on. Her hair was still curled the same way as it had been in the show.

She taken her picture with Seth like he requested. She took many many pictures with Carmella and they finally came to an agreement on which picture to post. She posed for a picture with her Dad and Hunter and it was going to go on all of their social media platforms. She now found herself watching the WWE champion's match in the gorilla. She watched as AJ got the pinfall over Shinsuke Nakamura and the crowd cheered. Shinsuke turned heel in a moment that nobody saw coming.

She hoped that Shinsuke was gentle with the low blow because she had a surprise for AJ planned for tonight and some of it involved the area that Shinsuke just low blowed.

AJ came through the curtain, unlatching himself from the referees and heading straight towards Natalie. He immediately hugged her tightly. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.

"I love you too."

"Tonight has been an amazing night, although it didn't feel the greatest being low blowed by Shinsuke."

Natalie laughed. "That didn't look like it felt good."

"Trust me, it did not."

He unwrapped their embrace and accepted handshakes from everyone in the gorilla. "Great performance out there, AJ," Vince McMahon praised.

"Thank you, Vince." He then looked at his girlfriend. "You want to come with me to my locker room so I can get showered and changed?"

"I won't say no to that!" She wrapped her arm around his waist and the couple headed to his locker room. He opened the door and let Natalie walk inside first. He followed suit and laid his title in one of the seats. "So, I was wondering if you wanted to attend the afterparty?"

"Is that what you want to do?"

"I think it would be a lot of fun."

"Okay," the WWE champion nodded. "If that's what you want to do, then we can do that."

She smiled at him. "Really? Thank you."

"Of course." He kissed her cheek as he headed towards the shower in his locker room. "You can come in here with me while I get a shower." Natalie nodded and happily obliged as she followed him into the shower stall. She took saw an empty chair in there and took a seat as they started talking about little mundane things during his shower.

* * *

The WWE champion and the Smackdown women's champion were finally settled in the motel room for the night. AJ and Carmella switched rooms. So, Carmella was now rooming with her man while AJ was rooming with his woman.

Natalie went to her bag to get some items. "Close your eyes." AJ furrowed his eyebrows at her, but didn't question her as he did what was asked of him. The blonde walked towards the bathroom.

A few minutes later AJ was told to open his eyes and the WWE champion's eyes widened as his girlfriend was standing in front of him dressed in red lingerie. "Holy smokes," he said to no one in particular. Natalie looked like a Goddess in red, no offense to Alexa Bliss.

'Dangerous Woman' by Ariana Grande started playing after Natalie turned it on her phone and Natalie started dancing seductively to the song. With the help of Carmella, they best friends decided on a song that Natalie felt the most comfortable dancing to and being seductive with. She motioned for AJ to lean forward and he did just that. She seductively walked over to him and then proceeded to give him a lapdance. She was nervous doing this, but she felt more adrenaline than nervousness.

Three minutes and the song and dance were over. Natalie stood straight and looked at the Phenomenal One seriously. "What did you think? I wanted to do something spontaneous for you since it has been a spontaneous night."

"That was...that was...Wow!" AJ was at a loss for words. He was ultimately pleased by the spontaneity of his girlfriend though.

"I was also thinking..." she walked up to him and placed her hands on him, rubbing them up and down his shoulders to his pecks. "...we should to some celebrating of our own." She eased her hands down further reaching the end of his cotton shirt and pulling it up.

"I can always do more celebrating!" Just like that, AJ was on Natalie. Tonight was the going to be the night when AJ and Natalie's relationship moved to another level intimately.

Tonight was an incredible night between the moments with everyone. It meant a lot to her that her Dad got to be there during her big Wrestlemania moment. She hoped there would be many more. She was also too happy with the fact that Shawn had accepted AJ to be a part of her life.

She couldn't think of a better way to possibly end the greatest night of her life then by being with the man who was undoubtedly her first love. There was no doubt she overcame everything to have this amazing night. It was so worth it.

* * *

 _ **A/N:**_ **The end.**

 **I have two more AJ and Natalie stories planned. I have the other two stories planned out pretty thoroughly. The next one is going to be a little bit more darker compared to this heartwarming story. But, I have some fun things planned for that too. I am going to have my own take on a classic rivalry that happened in the Summer 2018.**


End file.
